


It's never enough for your downtime

by Frightened_tragedy



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate universe- fake/pretend relationship, F/F, Fluff, Other, senior year au, what would a hsau be without a little angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-05-14 18:39:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 41,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5753971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frightened_tragedy/pseuds/Frightened_tragedy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura tells Theo she's already seeing someone in order to stop him from hitting on her. The only problem is she isn't. Unsure of what to do, Laura asks Carmilla for help. She agrees, but straight lines start to get wiggly and blurry when she gets into character. Things get even worse when Papa Hollis gets involved. </p><p>Basically Carmilla’s a smitten kitten and Laura's an oblivious ray of sunshine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Don't be suspicious

**Author's Note:**

> Laura tells Carmilla what happened and Carmilla tries so hard to avoid getting involved. She really does. 
> 
> Hey, fam. This is something I've been working on for a few weeks without really feeling the need to post it, but why waste a hsau? 
> 
> Anyway I'll be updating hopefully every week (sweats) and I hope you enjoy this more than I did. 
> 
> Feel free to tell me about my mistakes and anything I can improve on, it would be greatly appreciated.

“Carmilla! I need to talk to you!” 

Laura was practically bouncing down the long hallway of the Arts building when she spotted who she was searching for. She quickened her pace and almost tripped when Carmilla turned around, a few feet in front of the honey blonde she had come to know as cupcake. 

“Wow there, lady killer. Slow do-” 

Laura was thrown forward and Carmilla was forced to sacrifice her books in order to catch her before face to ground contact. 

“Why do you always announce yourself like this?” 

Carmilla groaned as she looked passed the girl in her arms to her books sprawled all over the hall. She was lucky it was the middle of lunch because if it wasn't she wouldn't have ever seen her Evolution of Art textbook again. 

Laura cleared her throat as she found her hands sitting in places they shouldn't be. She blushed instantly at the sensation of Carmilla’s chest underneath her awkward hands and retracted them immediately. 

Carmilla looked back to Laura's waiting eyes and frowned at the loss contact. She hadn't been paying attention to what was happening, but for some reason she mourned the feeling of Laura's hands on her. It was probably just some kind of shock reaction or something. 

“So, what was it you so desperately needed me for?” Carmilla asked, shaking away her thoughts and focusing on one task at a time. 

Laura opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She closed it and looked around at the books littered around their feet. 

“Right, I need to talk to you,” she finally announced, walking away from Carmilla and gathering up the mess of books. 

Carmilla lent on her knees picking up the papers that had flown out, trying to organise them in a neat pile, giving up once they were in a messy stack. 

“You okay?” she asked after hearing how urgent Laura sounded. There were only two reasons why Laura would be pushy and it was either because she was hungry or worried and right now it seemed to be the latter, but Carmilla’s been wrong before. 

She stood from the ground and reached for the books Laura had gathered, noticing they were organised in biggest to smallest. She only organised things when she was nervous, a habit she picked up from Perry. 

“Can we, maybe sit down? It might be better?” Laura motioned to an empty classroom one of the teachers had left open. 

“Of course, whatever helps you breath,” Carmilla said overly dramatic, trying, and failing to lighten the mood.

Laura walked over to the teacher's table while Carmilla chose the desk directly in front of it. She put her books down and threw her bag off her shoulders next to her chair. 

This was probably going to be a long rant on the values of tupperware or something that wasn't actually relevant to anything, but Carmilla was going to listen cause she loved watching her friend being passionate. 

Laura paced the front of the classroom until coming to halt at the white board. She had her back facing Carmilla when she looked to see an old marker lying on the ground in front of her feet. 

It was an internal debate on whether she should say it out loud or draw a picture and let Carmilla guess why she was so stressed. 

That would probably be considered cruel. 

“A guy in my biology class asked me on a date and I told him I already had a girlfriend and that I will introduce them soon,” Laura turned quickly on the spot and stared at Carmilla, waiting for her to say anything.

“You couldn't just say you weren't interested?” 

Carmilla already knew where this was heading and she was going to do everything in her power to avoid falling into this trap. 

“I panicked!” Laura threw her hands up in the air and slowly made her way to the desk next to Carmilla. 

Carmilla mumbled something that sounded like ‘of course you did’ and turned her chair to face Laura's side. 

“If he asks just say you broke up and you're too hurt to see anyone else,” she suggested, already coming up with several allabys for the distressed honey blonde. All of which included no need for Carmilla to be involved. 

“I'll have to act sad. You know I'm terrible at acting,”

That was true. In drama class Laura was the least believable tree there was, but she made up for it with enthusiasm. 

“Okay then, say she moved to Australia for the rest of the year and you only get to see her on your birthday,”

“He’ll think I should be sad because I don't get to see her any more,”

“Tell him to mind his own business,” Carmilla suggested playfully, knowing that Laura would never tell someone to basically never talk to her again. 

Laura's mouth tugged into a small grin before it faded and she pushed Carmilla back in her chair as a light-hearted warning. 

“He's the only person I get along with in my class,”  
Laura frowned, thinking about what it would be like if he left her by herself. 

“That's ridiculous, everyone likes you,” 

“But do I like everyone?” she drawled, knowing she had won a tiny battle. 

“Looks like there's only one solution to your problem,”  
Carmilla sighed dramatically and looked at Laura through her eyelashes. 

“We’re gonna have to find your dumb butt a girlfriend,”

Laura groaned as if Carmilla had just punched her in the face and dropped her head onto the wooden desk with a thud. 

“I don't want a real girlfriend, I want to get this guy off my dick,” 

“Did you seriously just say that?” Carmilla couldn't believe what this tiny gay had just said. Laura never said stuff like that, it was something Carmilla would have been proud to hear under different circumstance, but the first part threw her off. It must have been a joke because the amount of times Laura said shit that involved couples or romance was truly infinite. Literally two hours ago Laura sent Carmilla a text saying she wanted to hug her and pretend they were a high school couple. 

Wait a second. Was Laura trying to-

Carmilla was interrupted in her string of wonders by another excuse. “Dating someone is great if you actually like them,” 

She was being ridiculous. She needed to girl the hell up and find someone willing to date her. It's not like it would be hard to find someone attracted to her. She was cute and funny and sometimes she was even sarcastic. 

Those were Carmilla’s favourite moments. 

“You were the one who told that guy you had a girlfriend,” 

“I'm not good under pressure!”

Laura was a bundle of nerves when she was under pressure, but somehow she got better grades than Carmilla. It's something that was truly baffling to both of them. 

“What about Danny? Didn't she ask you out a few weeks ago?” 

Danny was on the track and field athletics team. She was tall and toned, but for some reason, despite how well Laura got along with her, she turned the offer down. Carmilla was surprised at the least, but also relieved because she didn't exactly get along with the giant beanstalk. 

“I'm not using Danny for this. She's the last person I would date or want to hurt,” Laura said strongly emphasising the last part. 

“Okay then, cupcake. Who would you choose?” 

Laura took a moment to run through possible candidates in her head. Carmilla just watched the gears rotating and came to the conclusion that Laura was going to say something incredibly dumb. 

“What about you? I mean, all you would have to do is be a little more hands on. We’re already close, so it won't be a big deal. You can walk me to bio this week, kiss me goodbye and go on with your day as per usual.”

And there it was ladies and gentlemen. Another classic from Laura Hollis. 

“but if you don't want to do it then I totally understand, but I will hold it against you that you didn't help your best friend in times of need,”

She pouted and tried to give Carmilla the puppy dog eyes, which wasn't exactly hard and waited for the brunette to respond. 

Carmilla weighed up her options. She told herself from the start that she wasn't going to participate in this ludicrous plan and yet, here she was. Trying to divide the situation into possible gains and losses. 

A gain was that she could hold it against Laura and use it later as leverage. A loss was that it was a dumb cause and she would probably be the worst person for this little hoax Laura could pick. Another gain was that she would be helping Laura and it wasn't like she had never thought about kissing her before. 

“If I say yes, you have to promise me that you'll tell people you're not interested from now on and you'll come to my brother's birthday party this Saturday?” 

She was pretty sure Laura was already coming, but at this point it didn't really matter. She had too many commitments as it was. 

Laura was going to be fake dating Carmilla for at least a week and they had to kiss, which made Carmilla feel a weird fluttering sensation in her stomach. She was probably just hungry. 

“Yes, yes, yes, yes! Oh my god. I owe you,” Laura exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and bear hugging Carmilla in an uncomfortable position. 

“You're such a spas,” Carmilla chuckled into Laura's hair and smiled dumbfounded at what she just agreed to. 

“And yet you're still my girlfriend,” 

Laura pulled away and grabbed Carmilla’s bag, hoisting it over her shoulders. She walked to the door and waited for Carmilla to follow her out. A strange expression Laura had only seen once was on her face, seemingly changing Carmilla’s mood to a much more calmer one. 

The only other time she had seen the expression was once when they first met during year 9. Carmilla was new and Laura being the friendly, helpful student she was, offered to take Carmilla on a tour of the school. Laura had said something about how dull everything was once you got settled in at Silas and it made the brunette feel like they were having an honest conversation. Not just a time wasting chat. 

 

They walked to Carmilla’s locker and by some kind of tragedy the guy Laura was talking about had been sitting in that exact hall, waiting for some of his ‘bros’ to finish detention. 

“Hey Laura. Fancy seeing you here,” he said charmingly, making Carmilla want to gag. 

“Hey Theo, why are you sitting on the floor?”

Laura seemed nervous again and if there was a specific sign for Carmilla to start acting like her girlfriend, then her whole body was desperately signalling for Carmilla to do anything slightly intimate with her. They were both good at reading each other, especially when they needed help. 

She grabbed Laura's wrist and slid her hand into the inside of her palm, grazing her fingers between Laura's until she tighten her hand and intertwined them like a zipper. It was meant to be comforting for Laura to know Carmilla would play along as moral support, but she was starting to feel like this is what they should do more often. It just worked for them. 

Theo definitely saw what happened. His smile faltered slightly and he swallowed before answering. 

“Kirsh started shouting pizza or death in the middle of class, so here I am,” he said humorously motioning to his spot on the ground. 

“I'm pretty sure he did that once in an exam,” Laura and Theo continued to chat, while Carmilla gently took her bag from Laura's figure and started to take her books out from her locker and load them up.

It didn't take long for Kirsh to emerge from the door opposite Carmilla’s locker. 

“Hey Carm-sexy! Long time, no see,” he winked clumsily at her and Laura stiffened.

Theo got up and bro-fived Kirsh, pulling out a pack of gum and offering him a stick. 

Carmilla took this opportunity to use what was in her favour. 

“Lovely seeing you again, beefcake. It's always a pleasure,” she said sarcastically, wrapping her arm around Laura's shoulders. She felt the shorter girl relax a little and breath in deeply, apparently this girlfriend thing did have its perks. 

“I'm always happy to help brighten up your day, Edward Cullen,” 

For some reason Carmilla loved exchanging witty banter with the toddler. It made her feel like even the most oblivious of us have good moments. 

“Have fun figuring out how to chew and walk at the same time B1. Don't let him trip B2,” 

Laura waved a goodbye to the mildly fazed boys and stretched her arm around Carmilla’s waist. She directed them to their normal outside table where most of the ginger squad was. 

“Should we act like a couple in front of them too?” Carmilla asked, uncertain of how far they should take this little shenanigan. 

“Maybe we should put it on hold. I don't feel like explaining a bunch of bullshit to them right now,” Laura replied squeezing Carmilla’s hip and releasing her grip. 

Carmilla let her arm fall from Laura's structure and slid one hand into her pocket for good measures. This was going to be a weird charade to play, but it seemed that Carmilla was enjoying most of it and if you're having conscious, in-control fun, why stop? 

 

****

 

Laura felt guilty. She felt like she shouldn't have roped Carmilla into her terrible plan, but so far everything was going great. Theo stopped hitting on her, Carmilla was touching her and he believed they were a real couple. 

Which would be considerably better if Kirsch stopped telling everyone he came in contact with. 

First there was the group of girls in P.E, then there was all of his zeta bros and of course he texted Laura after school telling her that he told his mother. 

**Wilson:** my mom's super happy for you and Carmilla  
;)) 

**Nerd-hottie:** KIRSCH!! WHY DO YOU KEEP TELLING EVERYONE?! my dad is going to kill me =(

**Wilson:** I don't think your dad will kill you for being gay. He's a cool guy, he wouldn't do that 

**Nerd-hottie:** HE ALREADY KNOWS I'M GAY!! HE'LL KILL ME BECAUSE YOUR MOM WILL TELL HIM I'M DATING CARMILLA INSTEAD OF ME! 

**Wilson:** I'm sorry!! Looks like you'll have to tell him now then ;)

Laura looked up from her phone and out her bedroom window. There had to be a way out of this. Carmilla would never agree to lie to papa Hollis. There was only one way Laura could confirm her suspicions. 

She was going to have to ask Carmilla to keep this facade up. If she said no, then Laura wouldn't have a choice, but to tell her dad why Kirsch’s mom thinks her and Carmilla were an ‘item’. 

If she said yes, he would probably invite her over to dinner and lightly interrogate Carmilla. There would be a few death threats, but Laura was sure she could handle them. 

She clicked the conversation with Carmilla and started explaining the situation to static silence. 

A few minutes passed without any sign that Carmilla had received or read the text and it was starting to dawn on Laura that maybe all of this was her worst idea so far. 

That included the time she tried to duck tape Laf to their bedroom door when they were little and when she thought trying to cook two minute noodles in a frying pan was a solid attempt to make dinner. Which was a much more recent disaster than a few of her notably horrible moments. 

She decided that staring at her phone was only going to slow down her concept of forever and opted to work on her math homework. 

 

****

 

Carmilla was buried deep in her thoughts, reading through some of her old journal entries throughout high school. 

There were pieces that were light and informative with some forms of joy in them and then there were a couple with dangerous language and painful topics. 

Most of the ones she was reading had a mention of Laura or moving to a new school or how she felt about herself and how others saw her. 

She had been doing this a lot. She would get home and look through her journals, reflecting on everything she read and remembered. There were entries that she couldn't remember writing and things she couldn't remember going through. 

There were poems and concepts that seemed ridiculous to look back at, but she was grateful that she did keep all of these books. 

A buzzing sound startled her out of her own world and brought her back to reality. A reality in which she was crying and hadn't noticed. She couldn't tell if they were happy or sad tears, but they were in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. 

She looked to her phone screen, lighting a glow on her bed. No doubt it was Laura. She always texted Carmilla after school. She was most likely asking about school work or she found a funny video on Tumblr and wanted to share. 

Carmilla wiped her eyes, helping her to see the phone through blurry vision. 

It was definitely Laura, but she didn't hyperlink anything. This must be serious. 

**Sundance:** MY DAD IS GOING TO FIND OUT ABOUT OUR ‘RELATIONSHIP’ AND I'M GOING TO MURDER KIRSCH!! HE TOLD HIS MOM THAT WE WERE DATING AND SHE’S GOING TO TELL MY DAD AND MY DAD WON’T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AND HE’LL ASK ME ABOUT IT AND THEN I DON’T KNOW IF I SHOULD TELL HIM THE TRUTH OR LIE BUT I WANTED TO ASK YOU IF YOU WOULD DATE ME FOR A FEW MORE WEEKS BECAUSE HE WON'T UNDERSTAND AND I'M DOOMED IF WE DON’T. ALSO IT WILL MEAN THAT HE’LL WANT TO HAVE A FAMILY DINNER WITH YOU WHICH WILL REALLY BE HIM ASKING YOU A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS AND BEING INTIMIDATING BUT HE WOULD NEVER ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING TO YOU PROBABLY AND IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU COULD TELL ME QUICKLY BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME AND I THINK I'M GOING TO SELF COMBUST. Also how's your night going? :))

Carmilla needed a moment to think about how far she was willing to take this. There had to be another way around this little speed bump than to actually go to Laura's house and talk to her father. Especially considering he thought Carmilla was doing inappropriate activities with his daughter. 

Carmilla blushed and couldn't help the embarrassed smile that spread on her lips when she began to think about Laura in those kind of situations. 

She opened up the message box and was about to reply, saying that she would do it at a cost, when something hit her. 

“Oh my god,” Carmilla muttered to herself, her eyes wider than before. 

“This is not happening,”

She had feelings for Laura and not in a friendly way. 

She sighed deeply and swallowed the lump in her throat. She should have known something was wrong. All this time and she only just figured out that it was Laura she wanted. How had she never seen it before? It was so clear.

The way Laura spoke, the way she looked at her, the way she lightened Carmilla’s darkest days. Hell to the way she was heavily invested in doctor who. She loved it all. She loved all the quirks and looks and all of the stupid plans Laura had. She loved her. It's been years and only now she can identify why Laura makes her feel happy. Because she is happy when she's with Laura. Everyone was. The girl was basically the sun and Carmilla was one of the tiny moons that was only illuminated because of the her light. 

Carmilla had a wide range of experience with girls. She had an occasional fling with her study buddy Elsie last year. They would just hook up in the library in the international politics section. They never really did anything other than make out and once Elsie graduated she didn't stay in contact with Carmilla, so she moved onto other girls. If they were from different schools she preferred it, but there was one she had stopped seeing nine months ago. The girl, Ell was a little possessive and clingy and Carmilla had tried to avoid her, but somehow the girl would always find her. It got to a point where she was invading Carmilla’s privacy, so she went to the school counsellors and they settled it for her. Ell moved schools and no one has heard from her since. 

Those types of affairs was why Carmilla wanted to stay far away from the world of attraction, whether it's with Laura or anyone else. She needed time to think and mature before she started doing anything that involved girls or boys. 

She quickly typed out a confirmation for Laura, deciding that tonight had already been an emotional joyride. She just wanted to eat dinner and go to sleep. Maybe she would feel better if she had some food in her system. 

 

****

 

**The friendly vampire:** I'll do it, BUT you owe me BIG time.


	2. Dad, pls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something about feelings and then something to do with imagine me and you. 
> 
> Laura couldn't be any more embarrassed and Carmilla is already over everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really remember writing any of this, but I just finished editing it. 
> 
> So apparently I don't follow my own schedule and I'm going to upload chapters whenever I finish making them look shiny. It'll most likely be once a week, but I can't tell the future so there's that. 
> 
> Feel free to comment about mistakes or cute parts idk, whatever you feel is worthy of communicating to me.

Laura was more than relieved when she received Carmilla’s reply. At first she couldn't believe it because Carmilla never agreed to her adventure proposals, but then she realised Carmilla must have something devious in store for her. 

She was yet again tense, trying to figure out what Carmilla could possibly get her into. Normally it was the opposite way around with Carmilla having to wait in suspense. 

Her father's voice rang through the house, making Laura stumble to her feet and work on their own accord. 

“Laura? Could you please come down here for a minute?” He was using the ‘I'm not mad just furious’ voice only heard when she was going to be grounded. That's always a fun way to start these conversations. 

Before Laura knew it she was sitting at the kitchen table with her dad on the opposite side, who seemed calmer in person than his tone let on. 

“So, is it true?” 

“Is what true?” Laura was going to pretend like she had no clue as to what her father was asking. She was stubborn just like Mr Hollis and if their previous discussions were any indicator in how this may turn out, one of them was going to end up banned from going out on weekends. 

Laura tossed up if that would be a bad thing or not. 

“Are you dating Carmilla?” he asked blankly, staring at Laura like it was an investigation. All that was missing was the bright desk light shining into her eyes.  
“Yes,” Laura wanted to answer in the shortest for she could manage. It was particularly hard for her, ranting was the only way she knew how to deal with tough situations and of course her own parent knew that. 

“Yes? That's it? No heartfelt ‘I was going to tell you, but I didn't think it mattered’? Come on, pup,” he raised his arms on the table and waited for Laura to say anything. 

“Well, it's only been, like, a week so I- I don't see why this is a big deal,” she was trying to convince herself more than him. 

She couldn't even imagine a world where her and Carmilla were dating. It just seemed so foreign, like something out of a sci-fi movie. Dating Carmilla, being romantic with her, it all seemed so impossible. She was gorgeous and witty, everything about her screamed heartbreaker and yet, Laura hadn't seen her with a girl before. Sure Carmilla would point out cute girls at school or talk about a lot of female celebrities when they were playing sleepover games, but she had never seen her interact with girls as more than friends. 

Come to think of it, Carmilla never flirted with anyone other than Laura. 

But that was just their way of talking to each other and Laura would be lying if she said she hadn't flirted back. It was easy and comfortable with Carmilla even if they took it too far and said something completely crude or lame, it didn't change their friendship. That was until Laura made Carmilla play along with this. Whatever this is. 

“Laura, I'm only going to ask you this once. How long have you been sexually active?” his tone softened, but that didn't make the question any less awkward. 

“Dad! I'm not having sex with Carmilla!” Laura blushed at her statement. It didn't surprise her that he would ask such a personal question, but for it to be one of his first inquiries was invasive.

“Thank God,” he said looking up at the ceiling. That pushed Laura over the edge. The fact that he was thankful she still had her virginity was infuriating. She was old enough to legally do whatever she wanted with another consenting individual and it shouldn't matter whether she has or hasn't done anything with Carmilla. If she was her real girlfriend then Laura would definitely be up for some mature fun. 

“What's that supposed to mean?”

There was a hostile tension in the room that may have been clouding Laura's vision, but she wanted to know why he thought it was so important for her to keep her virginity. 

“It means that I don't have to worry about teen pregnancies or S.T.Is,” he said as if it was the only thing he was worried about. 

Laura didn't know if her dad was being genuinely concerned about the pregnancy part, but he did have a point in a super annoying way. 

“I get that you're concerned, but honestly it's not going to happened for a while, so you can stop worrying,” they both physically relaxed and Laura was thankful she didn't have to talk about anything in depth. That would have been embarrassing. 

It's not like she hadn't dated people before, she had. There was Kirsch in 8th grade and S.J in 9th, but those relationships only lasted two weeks and both of them consisted of hugs and small pecks that hadn't been anything other than awkward. 

She was older now and during the summer break of her freshmen year she grew a lot. Not just physically, but maturity wise as well. Sure she enjoyed having fun, but the amount of dumb things she used to do had dropped and was replaced with productivity and curiosity. 

Having Carmilla with her while they were both changing a lot strengthened their bond. In year 9 Carmilla was unpredictable and quiet, but now she was, well, still unpredictable, but she was a lot more confident and expressive now. 

“I didn't want to scare you or anything, but it's important to be safe and comfortable in that environment,” he started again, unaware of how many hours Laura spent on Tumblr. 

“Listen, dad. I know what you're going to say and I appreciated it, but you really don't have to worry, I'll be fine. And you know Carmilla, she's always on the same page as me. We're not going to rush anything or do anything stupid,” she lied, more convincingly as a shy smile spread on her face at the thought going through all of that with Carmilla. 

“Okay, okay. As long as you feel good about her coming to dinner in two weeks to talk properly with me. After all I am the creator of the girl she likes,” he said it in a typical dad tone, as if what he was saying the punch line of a joke. It made Laura cringe and feel better at the same time, something that only he could do. 

“Yew, dad please,” 

“You need to lighten up, kid. I can see the wrinkles all over your face,” 

“You're the old one,”

“And yet my youth and grace is admired by many,” 

“Okay Cinderella, calm down,” 

 

****

 

Carmilla woke the next day to a message from Laura and the sun shining through the window, warming her face. They were basically the same thing. 

She groaned at the thought and threw her blanket back over her head. Was this really happening to her? Did she _really_ have feelings for Laura? Out of all the people it could have been, Laura's the one her heart desires? 

It's not a bad thing. She knows Laura very well and they share a lot of memories together, but it's so inconvenient. It's their senior year and she wanted to have a drama free experience, so that when she looked back in fifty years it would be a fond memory and not something she wished to forget. 

But the tide gave her more trouble than seaweed and she had to figure out a way to get rid of it all. 

She could confront Laura, tell her how she felt or she could keep it to herself and hope that it goes away. That's what she normally did with messes and homework. It seemed to work most of the time, who's to say it wouldn't work this time? 

She stuck her head out of the cover and looked at her phone. Curiosity got the better of her and she checked what Laura had written. 

**Sundance:** My dad invited you to have dinner with us in two weeks. He also tried to talk about SEX between YOU AND I, which was the strangest thing I have been through to date. 

Why did Laura always have to caps lock everything? It was like she wanted Carmilla to get hot and bothered before she was even awake. 

Carmilla read the message a few times just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. She said from the start this fake dating thing would be a train wreck and she was right. She was going to get her heart broken and there was no way she could back out now. Laura was depending on her to show up in two weeks, which meant they had to be a couple for at least _two_ weeks. That's fourteen days of constant torment and enjoyment she was going to look in the eyes and welcome. Why? Because at this point morals didn't exist. 

She texted Laura a quick good morning and acceptance of the invite, chuckling to herself. As if she would say no. 

Camilla was a proud person. She didn't think much of others and it wasn't hard for her to deal with criticism, but Laura was an exception. Ever since she met her Carmilla was willing to change her own morals and tolerance levels if she had to, but it wasn't the same for Laf or Perry. Only Laura. 

She rolled out of bed in her navy boy shorts and black sports bra, shivering as the cold touched her skin. She quickly got dress, throwing on a pair of black ripped jeans and a dark red T-shirt that faded to black. 

She got ready for school and waited for Will in the car. She just got her license, but rarely drove to school unless her mother couldn't take them. Today she had business meeting and didn't have enough time to drop them off, so it was Carmilla’s turn. 

Will didn't like driving in the mornings, something about not enough caffeine, so he drove I nthe afternoon. 

She drove a beat up, second hand 1981 GL ford that her uncle passed down to her. It was a faded, chipped blue, but the engine was in great shape because he was a mechanic. He still does the odd job here and there for Carmilla when she needs it and she was incredibly thankful at the no charge rate he gave her. 

“Hey,” Will said, opening the door to the passenger side and dumping his bag in the footwell. 

Carmilla was about to look up from her phone to acknowledge his presence, but he cut her off. 

“I hear you're dating Hollis?” he was avoiding manners at this point and Camilla was tempted to let him walk to school. 

“Yeah,” she couldn't be bothered destroying him, it just wasn't worth it this early in the morning. 

“Wait how did you find out?” she was slightly confused. If Will knew then he must have heard from Kirsch, which meant Kirsch was telling everyone he knew.

“It was on Kirsch’s Facebook page, he made a status about it,” Will said simply and shrugged. 

She didn't know whether to text Laura or tell her when they got to school, but either way Carmilla was pretty sure she was going to be in a bad mood today. She decided to wait and have a proper conversation about it. 

A moment of unsettled silence passed and Will could tell something was ticking away in his sister's head.  
“I thought you knew?”

“Now I do. So what do you have planned for your pathetic day?” she asked trying to change the subject before he could ask a question he would regret. 

“Why didn't you tell me? You've known Laura for how long? and you didn't think it was important to tell your only brother, love had found it's way into your cold heart,” he meant it as a joke, but it came out with more bite than comedic value. He had to fight the hurt from his voice and decided that that was why he sounded aggressive. 

It had been a long time since Carmilla talked to him about anything and he missed being able to tell her his secrets. 

They were tight and it felt like she was avoiding him for no reason. The fact that everyone else knew and he only just found out that Laura somehow managed to break his sister's walls down made him feel betrayed. 

He would tell her if he was dating his best friend but Carmilla kept something this big from him, like she didn't trust him any more. 

“it's been literally two days, how was I supposed to know the puppy would be so fast? It's not like I planned any of this just to get under your skin, okay? It just happened,” 

She could tell he was upset, but what was she supposed to say? 

_‘Sorry I didn't tell you that I was fake dating my crush who's also my best friend and too good for me, next time this happens I'll call you as soon as it's confirmed’?_

“I'm still confused. How could you not notice that you were falling for her? How could something like that just happen?”

“I don't know, she just told me how she felt and it made something click, okay? Could you stop with this little interrogation?” they were almost at the school, but Will wasn't going to let this go. If she wanted to act like she hadn't somehow gotten out of the friend zone, then Will was going to have to convince her that Laura was leading her on. 

There was no way Laura told Carmilla ‘how she felt’. She wasn't that brave. Will knew that no one would be so courageous in their last year of high school, let alone towards Carmilla. She might have been like a giant fluffy cat with him, but she was intimidating when she was in public or with people she knew wouldn't stick around long enough to know she was a softie. But maybe Laura had broken down those barriers Carmilla set so high. 

Either way he was going to find out what was really going on. He had seen Carmilla get pushed around by study buddies before and if Laura was going to do something unforgettable Will had to figure out her intentions. He couldn't let her fall again. This time he was going to help her. 

“Fine, I'll see you later,” he got out of the car as soon as it was slowing down and slammed the door behind him. 

She wouldn't understand if he told her. She would never talk to him again if she found out how he felt. 

 

****

 

Carmilla was at her locker, getting ready for the day ahead when she noticed people staring at her. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she had a feeling Kirsch had a lot of friends on Facebook. 

She didn't care if people were going to judge her as long as Laura didn't take it to heart. She was a nice person and she would rather stand up to people and cause more drama instead of wait for them to forget they even existed. Teenagers were relentless and Carmilla would do everything in her power to protect Laura. 

They had conversations about how Laura wanted people to see her as an independent woman. A lot of people in her life thought because she was small she needed to be shielded and sheltered from the real world, but she didn't. In all the time that Carmilla had known Laura she was the strongest person in any problem or debate because she was smart and knew how to use her asset. 

Carmilla wanted to be more like Laura. She was headstrong and determined in the face of failure. Even when her dad or friends tried to talk her out of things, she worked out every possible outcome and their probability. She was amazing and everyone still felt like they needed to protect her. 

It would be a lie if Carmilla said she didn't want to protect her as well sometimes, after all that's what caring for someone does to you. 

However she was the only one who knew Laura well enough to understand she hated being modicodled.  
So Carmilla always tried to be supportive and helpful without adding constraints or useless badgering to her best friend's life. It was also impressive when Laura proved everyone she was right. It put her a position with power and Carmilla found that extremely attractive. 

She was snapped out of her mindless admiration for Laura by said girl’s hands settling on her stomach. Carmilla leaned back and felt her head tuck into her shoulder. 

“Hey there, Dracula,” she whispered into the taller girl's hair. 

Carmilla spun around so fast she almost pushed Laura away, but before the girl could stumble back she wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled Laura in for a chest to chest hug. 

She was so easily unravelled around Laura, she couldn't even remember why she had been so stressed this morning. Relaxation settled into her figure when Laura tightened her grasp, burying herself in the previously brooding girl. 

“What's up?” Laura asked, drawing circles on Carmilla’s back. She could tell something was off and she wasn't going to let Carmilla keep it to herself. Whenever she was sad she was hostile, but Laura knew how to calm her down. It wasn't good for her to keep everything bottled up all the time. She knew that, but she didn't always tell Laura. 

She also knew that Laura wouldn't judge her or get mad at her if she didn't share because she understood that some things were too personal. 

“I don't know. Will was really weird this morning and I just needed you with me,” she spoke slowly, breathing in Laura's scent. She smelt like cookies mixed with a subtle hint of washing detergent and deodorant. Carmilla knew that smell like it was her own. It was comforting and calming, but aloof at the same time. It was so Laura. 

“Well, I'm here now and you're in my arms. Don't worry about Will, he’ll be okay. He's probably nervous about his party or something, you know how he is,” she was so soft, Carmilla gave in and let herself believe that Will really was just anxious. He always got jittery before big events, but normally he would talk about it. 

“Thanks, cupcake.”

Laura pulled away, still holding Carmilla’s forearms as she looked into her eyes to find warmth and worry. Carmilla smiled shyly and shook her head lightly. 

“What?” Laura asked giggling insecurely. 

“You're so good to me.” 

As soon as Carmilla said that something in Laura's face changed. Not like she didn't believe her, but like she had seen something surreal. A ghost or fangs. 

“I uh, I think you're the good one in this situation,” she said dropping Carmilla’s arms and gesturing between them. 

She was referring to the relationship they were supposedly in, but Carmilla really meant what she said. Laura was her world and her world was treating her like a queen. 

“Yeah,” Carmilla said half heartedly and turned back to her locker, dropping everything into her bag and locking her door. 

“So, we’ve only got tomorrow and then it's the weekend,” Laura cleared her throat and walked along the hall with Carmilla at her side. 

“-and I was thinking after Will’s maybe you wanted to come back to my house? I figured you wouldn't want to be in a house filled with sweaty, hungover teenagers and I wanted to watch Imagine Me and You again,” Laura seemed nervous considering they had slept over each others house basically every weekend and holiday they had know each other. 

“Does your dad approve or is Miss Laura Hollis breaking many, many rules by inviting her girlfriend to ‘sleep over’?” Carmilla used air quotation marks and the most sultry voice she could muster without sounding drunk. 

Laura's face heated up instantly and she could tell she was bright red at the remark. 

“He’s going out of town for the weekend and I thought I might as well take advantage of the house. Unless you would rather clean up the aftermath,” Laura raised her eyebrows, glancing at Carmilla as they turned a corner. 

“I guess it would be a wasted unsupervised opportunity if I were to turn you down.” 

Laura smiled widely and nudged Carmilla with her shoulder. 

Carmilla didn't want to look in Laura's direction. She was feeling too many things at once. 

She felt happy that she wouldn't have to stay in a noisy house, but she didn't want Will to get even more upset at her. 

She felt excited that Laura wanted her to sleep over and she knew that there would be cuddling and contact involved and that's what was making her feel sick. 

She couldn't think about Laura like that any more. It had gone on for so long without her realising and now that she knew why she was drawn to Laura and everything was blurry. 

Friends weren't supposed to secretly want each other.  
They weren't supposed to take advantage of their friends. 

They weren't supposed to want to be more than friends. That's not how _friendships_ worked. 

The problem was everything reminded her of Laura. Literally everything. Somehow her brain would find a way to link everything she saw, felt, smelt, heard and tasted to Laura. It was hell. She couldn't concentrate on anything. She wanted to stop. 

She felt physically sick in her stomach thinking about how much this was going to change the dynamics of their relationship. She wanted everything to be normal again, as if none of this ever happened. No fake dating or catching feelings or sad moments of hope. 

There was no way Laura liked her back, at least not how Carmilla liked her. 

Carmilla forced a smile in Laura's direction, but she was already focusing on opening the classroom door that she didn't see the strain in Carmilla’s neck or checks. 

They made their way over to the joint tables in the middle of the room, putting their belongings on the floor and pulling out English books. 

It was a free reading English class, so they could choose a book to read, do a project and essay on the book, then choose a new book and start again. 

Laura had The Perks of Being a Wallflower opened already deeply engrossed in its writing, while Carmilla was just staring blankly at a Spot What book on the table. 

She remembered what Will said about the Facebook status Kirsch made and realised Laura still didn't know about it. She didn't have Facebook and used Carmilla’s when they were together because she didn't mind. 

She still needed to tell Laura about what happened and she was set on talking to her at lunch in private. If the rest of the scooby gang didn't notice yesterday's out of the ordinary lateness then they probably wouldn't notice again. 

 

She spotted the purple frying pan and turned the page, disinterest in the book she was supposed to be reading. It was Misery written by Stephen King and she really wasn't in the mood for pages of planning escapes even if she could use them in her own life. 

Green sunglasses were a good distraction for now.


	3. Caring is sharing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some making out with a side of tears. 
> 
> It's not what you ordered, but I can assure you the chef thinks it's worthy so

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me? Or are you feeling exceptionally gay today as well? 
> 
> With that knowledge in mind, it's the perfect time to give you a little piece of my own hollistein trash. 
> 
> Hope you like this more than my dog did. He sat through the editing process and mindless muttering and after ten minutes started banging his head on my door, trying to leave.

Laura could tell Carmilla was hiding something. In the years she’d known the brunette she had learnt that she was a very private, independent person, but this was weird. She would talk about things that made her uncomfortable, even if it was embarrassing.

She was staring off into space for the majority of English, turning the page of some kids book every ten minutes. Whenever Laura looked up to see what she was doing, Carmilla avoided eye contact and the small smiles Laura offered. 

This had happened before, but Laura wasn't sure if a Buffy marathon could fix it this time. She needed to confront Carmilla. It wouldn't be easy, but she had Friday to think about her approach and the sleepover would be her opportunity to cheer her friend up. 

Laura was sure she would go crazy if Carmilla kept brushing her off. She was confused about what was bothering her. Will might be getting under her skin, but she has never reacted like this. Once she asked Laura to help her devise a plan that ended with Will in detention for a few weeks. 

The girls were tinkering with possible ideas for days after Will got Carmilla in trouble for sneaking away to Laura's house when she was grounded. He told their mom and he was definitely not happy. 

Carmilla had to clean out the garage and the bathrooms for two months. 

So she asked for help in her road to revenge and Laura was more than happy to accommodate. 

Laura put chilli powder in their math teacher’s coffee while Carmilla was distracting him and as Laura was walking back to her seat she put the small jar on Will desk, making it look like he was the offender. He was confused when Laura left him the gift, but as soon as he looked back to the front of the room the teacher was spluttering coffee out and looking around from desk to desk for the student responsible. 

Carmilla lazily walked back to her partner in crime and they watched the storm of trouble William was in unfold. Laura could still remember the look on his face. 

“Hey.” Laura was startled from the memory by Carmilla standing in front of her table looking anxious. 

“Hey,”

Laura waited for Carmilla to say something, deciding that she might tell her what was wrong. 

“I'm not going to be at lunch today. I have an art project I need to finish, so could you give this to Perry?” it was a food container with a fold out fork inside. 

Laura looked at Carmilla, silently asking her why she had it, but also agreeing to return it.

“She let me borrow it for Home Ec a week ago and I keep forgetting to give it back.”

Carmilla wanted to get out of there quickly, but Laura just kept staring at her, not saying a word. It felt like she was trying to figure something out, like she had some kind of suspicion about Carmilla that she wanted to test. She watched Laura's eyes roam around her face, then down to her hands holding the container. 

“Yeah, I'll tell her you said thanks. Is it okay if I come and visit while you're working?” she looked back to Carmilla’s face with a form of hope layering her tone. 

She really didn't want to deal with all of her emotions for the entire duration of the day and getting away from Laura was the only way her body would have a chance to relax. 

“It's a closed session, but I'll be thinking of you the entire time,” she gave in to her need to flirt and told the smallest lie possible. She was definitely going to be thinking about Laura the whole time, but the arts department didn't really care if students accompanied their friends. 

Laura's smile brightened up and she let Carmilla’s small lie slip past. She knew there was no such thing as a closed session in this school, but if Carmilla needed time to be alone, then Laura was going to play along. 

“I'll see you tomorrow,” Laura said, trying to make it seem like she had no idea Carmilla was hiding from her. 

“Yeah, tomorrow.”

 

****

 

Laura saw Perry and Laf sitting under the shade of some trees on the far side of the front lawns. She pushed Carmilla from her mind on many separate occasions during the day, remembering she wanted to be alone and respecting that. 

It was weird being by herself. It meant that she had to third wheel at lunch and watch the oddly cute, but still gross flirting of her friends. They were both oblivious to the discomfort Laura suffered, but at the end of the day she didn't really care.

 

****

 

Carmilla wasn't actually going to a closed art session. She wasn't even going to be finishing her art project. 

She decided just before lunch that she needed a distraction and what better way could she possibly fathom that didn't involve thinking or Laura? Desperate times call for sexy measures. 

She was looking for a girl that she turned down about a month ago, hoping that she still wanted to hook up. She was a year below, but she was more confident and content than everyone in Carmilla’s senior class. 

She played the bass guitar and was an all star soccer player for Silas. To say she had a diverse set of talents would be very accurate. 

Searching for her was easy. She was either with her soccer team near the oval or in the older building's courtyard with the band nerds and drama geeks.

After Carmilla checked the oval with no sign of the girl she headed straight to the courtyard, noticing her giggling with her friends. Her name was Sarah, but Carmilla liked calling her Hunter because if she was being completely honest, Sarah had a reputation in the world of ladies. At least at their school anyway. 

It was almost a game for her. She would hook up with a girl and move on with no strings attached or feelings lost in correlation. She was up front and exactly what Camilla needed. 

“Hey, Hunter. I need to talk to you,” she shouted the girl over, watching as her friends gave her knowing smiles and taps on the back. 

“Carmilla. I haven't spoken to you since May. What could you possible need to talk to me about?” Sarah was curious, but a little hesitant to converse with the older girl. After all, the last time they had seen each other ended in rejection. 

“Are you willing to have a little fun right now?” Carmilla spoke with an air of pure seduction, raising her eyebrows suggestively. 

The younger girl was taken back. She wasn't going to say no to the hottest girl in school, but it was weird she wanted this now with no notice. 

“I'm always up for some fun,” 

At that Carmilla took the girl's hand and paced the hall looking for free classrooms, trying to find an empty, lockable room. Less windows would work to their advantage. 

She found a suitable class and locked the door once they were both inside. Sarah was naive to do this with so many different girls, especially girls like Carmilla. It might be a good time for them both, but she would never know why or if Carmilla even wanted her in the end. 

She walked over to Sarah and crashed their lips together, giving the girl a sense of how she wanted things to go. She wanted it to be rough and fast without all of the lovey-dovey bullshit. 

Sarah pulled Carmilla at the hips, Jerking them closer for more friction. She ran her hands up and down Carmilla’s back, stopping at her butt and needing it firmly. The older girl moaned into Sarah's mouth, tugging on her neck to keep the sloppy, heated kiss going. 

Carmilla was taken over by desire for all the wrong reasons. She was getting it on with a hot bassist and instead of being overcome by pure attraction all she felt was her love deepening for laura. She tried to kiss her way out of her head, concentrating on Sarah and the way she was touching her. It was like doing that showed her just how much she wanted Sarah to be Laura. She could picture it in her head. 

Laura kissing her and touching her. Doing things that only she could make look graceful. 

Sarah pulled away, panting after the intense make out session was slowed by Carmilla. Her eyes went wide when she realised something important that she should have thought about before. 

“Oh my god.” she let out a mixture of a frustrated scowl and a guilty sigh. She completely disconnected herself from Carmilla, fixing her shirt and hair.

“You're dating Hollis, you asshole.”

“I know, I'm so fucking stupid.” Carmilla said after a moment. She was surprised she didn't have to fake that as much as she thought she would, but that made it feel worse. 

It didn't really mean anything for their friendship, Laura was never going to like her back and Carmilla could see whoever she wanted. But now with them ‘dating’ each other she wasn't allowed to screw around. This was a perfect example of what she wanted to avoid. 

“Why did you do that? You know I hate cheats.” Sarah was clearly pissed as anyone in her situation would be. 

“I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry,” she really was sorry for putting her in the middle of her problems, but she knew her apology would be useless. 

“Apologise to your girlfriend. She's the one who has to deal with you,” and with that Sarah was out the door, leaving Carmilla in hazed mess. 

She would have done the same if she was used like that. All she wanted to do was talk to Laura now. She fucked up Sarah's day and Laura probably knew that she was lying in English, so that's two people she's hurt and it was only 1 in the afternoon. 

She felt like shit and she just wanted to make things right. Sarah was never going to talk to her again, but Laura was stuck with her. 

Laura was one poor unfortunate soul. 

Carmilla groaned, picking herself up off of the table she had sat on after Sarah freaked out and forced her legs to take her to Laura. 

 

****

 

“-so when I added the hydraulic acid everything happened at once, but I got this neat scar.” Lafontaine was blabbering on about one of their experiments from a few years ago, when Laura noticed Carmilla with her head down, walking over. 

She looked upset, but it was directed at herself. Her shoulders were hunched over and each step she took looked like it was held down by an invisible weight. Her hair was covering her face, making it look like she couldn't see through the locks. 

Laura took a split second to know Carmilla wouldn't open up in front of Laf and Perry, which is when she abruptly stood half way through another one of Laf’s greatest moments. She wasn't missed as Laf went straight back to their story and she jogged over to the brunette, only noticing her tears once she was close. 

“Hey, I'm here,” Laura said, embracing Carmilla in a tight hug. She could feel the small sobs running through her best friend’s body, wanting desperately to fix whatever was wrong. 

“Come on, let's go somewhere private,” Laura pulled away, keeping her arm around Carmilla’s shoulders and guiding her behind the science labs near staff parking. Carmilla just kept letting tears roll down her face, not caring if anyone saw. 

“Sit with me,” Laura moved down to the ground, resting her back on a red brick wall and opening her arms waiting for a certain girl to cuddle her. 

“Laura, I did something terrible.” she got comfortable with Laura's arm around her back, her own hands playing with the fabric of Laura's shirt on her stomach.  
“It couldn't be as bad as the time you super glued your hand to your-”

“Please don't finish that sentence,”

Laura smiled at Carmilla and shrugged her shoulders in surrender. 

“I cheated on you with Sarah,” 

Laura laughed so loud, it was like heaven's gates were opening up and swallowing Carmilla’s mind. 

“Does she know you're single? Cause that's a pretty big factor in the whole cheating thing,”

“She thinks we’re together cause of Kirsch. So she was a little upset when she realised she made out with your girlfriend,” Carmilla wasn't laughing. It wasn't funny. The look on Sarah's face and the things she said were tattooed in Carmilla’s head. 

“You made out with her just now?” Laura fought the hurt from her voice. She wasn't supposed to be jealous that Carmilla was loving other girls, they weren't really together, so it didn't make sense for her to feel those things. 

“Yeah, and she didn't take it well,”

“Wait. You blew me off for her, who blew you off for me, who blew Perry and Laf off for you?” 

Uh… yeah, I guess.”

“So your art class is trying some interesting warm up methods these days,” Laura teased. She didn't care that Carmilla did this. Sure, she was confused about why she was proud and envious of Sarah. Sure, she was confused about why Carmilla was reacting so badly to getting rejected under false pretence, but she didn't care that Carmilla had lied to her. 

She knew that it was Carmilla’s way of telling her she needed space or some time. She just wanted her to feel better about what's got her stressed out. 

“Hey, I'm sorry for that. I was a dick,”

Laura wasn't going to let her get mad at herself for this. It may have all been her fault, but there was clearly something messy going on causing her to act strange.

“You know I'm always going to be around for you to talk to? Like I'm not going to be mad or annoyed or anything,” 

This is why she felt so terrible about everything. Laura was being the perfect, supportive best friend and all Carmilla wanted to do was avoid her feelings and cry. Which she was doing in Laura's embrace, but even sitting there, enveloped in Laura's arms made her feel so much better. She didn't care if Laura saw weakness in her. The least of her problems was being weak. 

Her mind was racing with contradicting thoughts. She did want to tell Laura and live happily knowing that she wasn't holding such a huge secret. It felt dirty and overwhelming keeping it from her. 

The thought of bottling everything up made her feel safe, but the feeling was founded on insecurity and doubt about how Laura would take the news. She couldn't lose her best friend over some stupid puppy love. 

It was so hard for Carmilla to make a decision that wouldn't hurt Laura or their relationship. 

She never had to deal with conflicting feelings before she realised Laura was her secret crush. So secret that even she didn't know. Until now, of course. 

“Yeah, you're basically my therapist that doesn't get paid. You should figure out a way to charge me,” Carmilla was ready to stop herself from making a horrible mistake. She needed more time to think about everything. 

Laura giggled and shook her head. 

“You know I could make a business out of this,” 

“Good luck. I think I would be the only one to put up with your incredibly complicated advice,” Carmilla could do this. It was good for her to act as normal as she could with Laura because even though there was so much going on in her head, the honey blond still needed her friend just as much as Carmilla needed her. 

“If you actually listened during my speeches maybe you would benefit,” Laura said smugly, a disbelieving smile on her face. 

“I guess I'm always distracted by the faces you make.”

Carmilla knew how to get a rise out of Laura and she also knew that Carmilla was never serious when she was defending something. She found it funny to watch the other person squirm and fight the strong urge to get into a fist fight with the brunette. 

Laura had deflated so many agreements Carmilla started out of boredom with strangers. Most of them usually deserved it for being offensive to many communities, so Laura let her go for a while. At least until she thought the other person was going to kill Carmilla. 

“It's cause I'm super cute. Admit it,” Laura nudged her shoulder and looked into Carmilla’s eyes, waiting for her prediction to come true. 

“Nope, that's not it,”

“Is it my keen fashion sense?”

“I don't think so,”

“it's my Tupperware collection, isn't it?”

“God, definitely not that.”

Laura's eyebrows scrunched in thought, taking a moment to think of her other qualities and collections. 

“Is it my knowledge of bike safety?” she seemed so confused. As if she couldn't think of any other reason why someone would want to be around her. 

“It's your endless supply of cookies, obviously,” Carmilla couldn't hold out any longer, letting herself chuckle at her own joke and the glare Laura was sending her way. 

“Here,” Laura groaned and pulled out a snack pack of cookies she had opened at the start of lunch. She was used to Carmilla teasing her about the small cookie obsession she had. 

They were both laughing at how ridiculous Laura's mildly disturbing gift was and shared the pack in comfortable silence, side by side. 

 

****

 

Robert couldn't believe his baby had a girlfriend. It was hard for him to not want to kill her, but that was standard parental responsibility. Or that's what he liked to tell himself. 

He had met Carmilla on several occasions, most of them were sleepovers. That was also one of his concerns. Sleepovers. He didn't know whether he should change some rules now that Laura was dating.  
It was all very complicated. Laura was still a teenager, but she was going to be old enough for a lot of new things soon and he had to be supportive of that. He was lucky Laura knew how to read situations, but bear spray couldn't protect her forever. She was going to be eighteen in September, but he would never see her as an adult. 

Of course she was going to get old and experience the world, but she was his little girl and he would never forget that. No parent ever really did. 

He watched her grow up. He saw all of her different phases and friends. He sat through hours of doctor who and Xena the warrior princess. He was there when she found herself. He was the one who held her when his wife passed away. 

He had seen her grow and change from an innocent, happy kid into a strange mixture of punk rock and scout girl. Then into a consistently curious adventurer. He had the whole front row to her life and he didn't want her to make the same mistakes that he did. 

All he could do was support her, though. That was his duty as her father. If she wanted to dye her hair purple, he would help. If she told him she needed a lift at three in the morning, then he would be there in five minutes no matter what kind of traffic. 

It was something you did for family. Your differences and opinions didn't change the unconditional care you had for each other. That's what happens when you find people that you grow and learn with. 

Rob had learnt that after his brother and sister were killed in a car accident. He realised taking people for granted was the biggest mistake you could make. It showed him how important reliable relationships were because his parents fell apart and he understood why.  
When you lose a child you lose a part of yourself that you invested so much time and love into. He couldn't even begin to imagine what his life would be like if Laura got lost. It may have been why he was overly protective of her. 

He wanted her to be independent and self sufficient, but he also wanted to keep her locked away in a tower where the world couldn't reach her. 

So he made compromises. Everyday when she walked out their front door. 

He stayed away from her when she needed space. He let her go to parties and have a social life because it wasn't his choice. If it was he would want to run a small nine part test on every person Laura brings home, girlfriend or not. It's just the way he coped. 

He was curious about Carmilla. They had only ever spoken in basic terms, so it was going to be very interesting for him to interrogate her. There was so much he didn't know about her or her family and if Laura was serious about this girl, then it was necessary for him to converse with the Karnsteins. 

Rob was finishing up in his office, retiring for the day. He was a cop, that stood at six foot three with a soul made out of candy and cotton. He was as Laura used to call him, a big bear with no claws. 

He signed out and walked to his car parked at the back of the building. He was going home after a quite strenuous day, knowing that as soon he got home his face would hit the soft surface of fluffy pillows and warm blankets. It was already Nine and Laura would have eaten and be in bed by the time he got home. 

He turned on the radio in his car and drove home to a quiet house. He would see Laura tomorrow before school. It was a shame he had to finish late some days, but that's how single parenting and sending your kid to school worked . 

He walked into the kitchen, making no noise. He flicked on the dull lights, checking to see if everything was in order. There was a container on the table with a small note attached. He picked up the note and read its message. 

_Dad, I know you're under a lot of pressure, so I made some cookies in case you were hungry. They're chocolate chip. Goodnight <3 _

Small things like this made his day feel incredible, knowing that his baby girl cared about him just as much as he cared for her.


	4. Ducks aren't cute, they're grunge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Best friends doing best friend things and some not so friendly banter between classmates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, fam. I would just like to offer a nice little story about writing this. I was at the dinner table, minding my own business, writing a hollistein scene and my brother lurked over my shoulder.  
> He asked me what I was doing and I just sat there for a moment, trying to figure out a way to leave, but my phone vibrated and it was like my friend knew to call me at that exact time, effectively giving me a reason to stop while I was ahead. 
> 
> It was on that day that I knew our friendship would last forever. 
> 
> Hope you all have moments like those and enjoy this chapter. Feel free to comment and say hi

Lafontaine was tinkering with some syringes, waiting for Perry and Carmilla to finished their theory essays. They were talking quietly about something to do with faking it, but they weren't sure if it was the TV series they were referring to. Either way they weren't writing essays. 

For some reason Perry and Carmilla had more in common than any would have thought. They were close because they wanted to be, not because they had to be like everyone assumed. 

Perry was always helping Carmilla through anything she had trouble with. Laura might have thought that Perry and Carmilla didn't talk, but boy, was she mistaken. 

At lunch they liked to act like they hated each as some kind of inside joke. They would throw snarky remarks at each other and bicker like there was no tomorrow, but when it came down to the grit they were great friends. 

Laf put their syringes down on the lab bench and walked back to the table where Perry was speaking in a hushed tone.

“-you're both ridiculous and frankly, you should have known this would happen eventually. She's going to freak out if you tell her,” Perry was doing that intense hand shaking thing she did when she got anxious, so something was going down. 

Even though Perry seemed nervous all the time, Laf could tell the difference between normal Perry and frantic Perry. It's one of the things they had learnt over the last decade about their best friend. 

This was frantic Perry. She had tense shoulders, her eyes were strained with concern and frustration and she was being harsh, even if that _was_ how they interacted. 

“If you tell who what?” Lafontaine asked out of pure curiosity and care for both of their current states. 

Both girls were silent, giving them the chance to scan the situation. 

They hadn't noticed before, but Carmilla looked oddly put together. She was wearing a light blue t-shirt with a yellow design of a duck on it and her eyes were red around the rims like she had been crying all morning.  
To top it all off she was wearing black sport shorts with bright pink stripes down the sides. 

“Who contaminated your cereal this morning?” Laf looked between Perry and Carmilla several times before Carmilla turned to Perry. 

“Do they know about…?” she was giving Perry the strangest look and they had no idea that Laf was watching every little twitch or signal they made to each other. 

“Yes, everyone knows,” Perry crossed her arms over her chest and her shoulders relaxed slightly, which was a good thing cause Laf was certain her back would have been screaming if it had a voice. 

Carmilla turned back to the mad scientist, just staring at them for a moment. 

“Laura and I are fake dating and I want to fake break up with her,” Carmilla lied knowing that Perry wouldn't tell anyone, especially Laf what she was really talking about. 

Perry was smart like that. She knew when to keep things from people and when it was okay to share. That's one of the thing Carmilla liked about her. She always knew how to be considerate of circumstance. 

Lafontaine let out a giggle, understanding that she was freaking out over something so petty. 

“If that's what will get you to stop wearing strangely colourful clothing then I think you should do it,” 

Carmilla flip them off and looked down self consciously at her terrible outfit. She wasn't really thinking when she got dressed today. She wanted to be comfortable, but this was a mistake. It was like a tinkerbell threw up all of the fairy bread and sprinkled donuts she had eaten in the past week onto her and sent her to school in it. 

“I think light blue looks nice on you,” Perry was concentrating on her essay now, not even looking up to deliver the compliment. Carmilla was thankful she didn't make a big deal out of her attire. She knows Perry was just trying to be kind, but it's obvious that this outfit just doesn't suit her. 

“Thanks, I think I'm going to go home and get changed at lunch,” 

Lafontaine smiled in agreement and they went back to work, gathering all of the syringes they had taken out before and putting them in the disposal bin at the front of the spacious classroom.

Carmilla was a strange girl who continued to surprise, confuse and humour them in every single way possible. 

 

****

 

Laura was on her way to her locker when Theo emerged from around the corner, effectively bumping into her and unnecessary grabbing her arms for balance. 

“Oh, hey there, Laura. Sorry I'm a bit clumsy,” he gave her a crooked grin and released her arms once she returned an accepting smile. 

She didn't exactly talk to many of her classmates outside of actual class, so she never really established whether she liked them as study buddies or good friends. 

“No biggie, I was just going to my locker, so…”

She went to step around him, her locker was only a few feet away, but he side stepped blocking her path. 

“Uh, is there something you wanted for bio or?” Laura was slightly annoyed by his persistence, but she wasn't going to be a complete asshole. 

“I've just been thinking about you and Carmilla and I'm beginning to believe that you're not really going out,” he said smugly as if he really did know the truth. It has literally been two days. It was impossible for him to know the truth unless he was some kind of telepathic psycho. 

When Laura thought about it that wouldn't be that much of a stretch. 

“What makes you say that?” Laura was kind of offended that he didn't believe they were together. Carmilla was basically a goddess and Laura was lucky to be her friend. The fact that she was willing to make everyone think they were dating was beyond Laura's wildest dreams. 

She was out of Laura's league and maybe that's why Theo thought they were pretending, but if she was going to be bothered by objectifying classifications that supposedly indicated who you end up with then she may as well tell him the truth. 

Which she would never do because she had too much pride and really needed this to persuade her dad. 

“You guys never kiss or do anything that couples do,” Theo was being fairly naive about what he was saying and Laura would never pass up the opportunity to make someone question themselves. 

“Wow, I'm sorry my relationship doesn't look the way you want it to. Maybe next time we make out we’ll invite you, just so you can sleep at night,” she was being incredibly sarcastic and she was sure that if Carmilla was here she would be proud of her girlfriend. 

“I wouldn't mind that,” he raised his eyebrow suggestively and Laura couldn't help, but cringe. 

“Go fuck yourself, meathead,” Carmilla was standing directly behind the tall jock, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. Laura couldn't see her until Theo moved out of the way, his big structure completely blocking her. 

He turned around slowly, giving Carmilla enough time to slip by his back and wrap her arm around Laura's shoulders, letting her hand hang loosely over her toned arm. 

Theo quickly spun back to Laura with an aggressive smile plastered to his face. He obviously wasn't expecting Carmilla to appear out of nowhere, but Laura knew she would always find a way to pop up in times of need. 

“Do you want to say that again, duck face?” he was bearing his fist by his sides which was a clear indicator for Laura to put an end to this hostile conversation. 

Laura did noticed Carmilla’s t-shirt which she had seen at some of their sleepovers before, but she never thought she would wear it to school. It wasn't exactly helping her be intimidating, in fact it kind of made her look cute. 

“I think you heard me just fine,” she said squinting with a fake smile. 

Theo had the same look in his eyes as all of Carmilla’s victims. At first she thought he was offended, but the look wasn't hurt when she studied it properly. It was a mixture of confusion, shock and anger, easily mistaken for pain before. 

He pursed his lips and internally debated if she was worth the fight. She was a lot smaller, but he had heard that she was animalistic when she fought. 

But was Laura worth this? Sure he liked her a lot and she was pretty hot, but was she really worth fighting her Emo ‘girlfriend’? 

He blinked slowly, fixing his eyes somewhere behind Laura. 

“Whatever,” he mumbled, shoving past Carmilla and strutting down the hall. 

“Are you okay?” Laura asked slipping her hand into Carmilla’s and pulling it down in between them. She guided them to her locker and looked into her eyes. 

She was smiling comically as if Laura had just made a cheesy pun. 

“Isn't that me line?” 

“I'll take that as a yes,” Laura mock glared and put her books into the locker, breaking eye contact. 

“Also, what is happening here?” she gestured at Carmilla’s outfit and gave a curious squint. 

“You love my duck shirt,” 

“I know. I've tried to steal it, remember?” Laura giggled when she remembered the look on Carmilla face when she got caught. 

“And you would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids,” she was acting like an old man with a hunched back and a creepy eye twitch. Scooby Doo classics were Carmilla’s favourite tv shows when she was little and she rarely told people that she still enjoyed watching them. 

Laura let out a laugh, closing her locker and shaking her head. Her hair fell from behind her ears and covered the goofy open mouthed smile she was aiming Carmilla’s way. 

“Where were you going before you heroically slew the snobby beast?” she dramatised linking her arm with Carmilla’s and waiting for her to lead the way. 

“I was heading home, actually. These clothes aren't working out,” she pulled the fabric of the t-shirt at her stomach and let go, watching it adjust back into place.  
“But you look so cute,” Laura pouted at her fake girlfriend in attempt to change her mind. 

“Theo thought so too, do I really need to say any more?” Carmilla said playfully as they walked out the building and to her car. 

“But we were going to watch Danny's trial today,” 

Danny had been training most lunch times for around a month for this trial. It was for sprints and hurdles and the whole dimwit squad agreed to be their to support her. 

It would determine if she got into state and therefore more or less likely to be offered scholarships for university. It was very important to do her absolute best or her chances would be slim. 

“I never said I was going to go. You overestimate me sometimes, cupcake,” 

Laura frowned and pulled her arm out from Carmilla’s hooked elbow slowly, getting ready to leave. 

“Yeah, but I was going to force you to come with me. That's what I always do when you refuse school spirit. It's tradition,” Laura was smiling, but her eyes revealed disappointment. 

“Why don't you come with me then? I'll be the one dragging you somewhere you don't want to be and Danny's heat doesn't start until the end anyway, maybe we’ll make it back in time,” Carmilla was almost grossed out at how hopeful that sounded, but she tried to remain disaffected and calm. 

Laura's smile changed from its forced form to a little grin she reserved only for Carmilla. 

“I'm in, but I get to control the radio,”

They both opened the car doors and got in. Laura went straight for the auxiliary cord, plugging her phone in and picking Beartooth’s ‘Inbetween’ 

Carmilla was still not used to her best friends music taste. It was everything that she wasn't. Punk, loud and sad most of the time, but she had always loved it. 

It was one of the first things they bonded over in 9th grade. It was surprising that someone who looked like they listened to Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran really enjoyed post hardcore and metalcore bands. 

Laura still did listen to the top 40, but whenever she wanted to listen to music that made her feel something, anything with a wicked bass and heavy percussion usually did the trick. 

She put her phone on shuffle and quietly sung along to of Bring me the horizon’s ‘Follow you’

Carmilla pulled up in her driveway and slid the keys out of the ignition, cutting Laura's jam session short. 

They both got out of the car and walked in comfortable silence through the spacious house, up the stairs to Carmilla’s room. 

Laura threw herself on the queen bed, while Carmilla sorted through her closet, looking for something more intimidating. 

“So what possessed you to wear the duck shirt this morning?” Laura didn't really care what Carmilla wore, today just proved that she could be sarcastic without all the black, but she never really changed her style unless her mother forced her. 

“I wasn't really concentrating. You know, I had other things on my mind,” _cough, cough, you, cough, cough._  
Carmilla internally sighed at her own attempt at a joke, knowing she should be focusing on anything, but Laura right now. 

It would have been easier to do that if she wasn't a few feet from Carmilla and sprawled out on her bed. 

“Is Willy boy still being weird?” 

“He hasn't spoken to me at all since yesterday morning,” Carmilla looked down at her hands clutching her moon phase singlet. She was fidgeting with the smooth material, running it between her fingers. 

She wanted to fix things before his party, but she didn't really know how. There was no real reason for him to ignore her, but he didn't seem to think that. If she was being honest with herself she knew why he was acting like this, but it was childish and he needed to realise she didn't want to be in this position. 

“Don't worry, he's probably just stressed about getting old. You know, pretty soon he's gonna have a mid life crisis,” 

Laura grinned at how quickly Carmilla’s expression changed from its worried state to much more amused glare. She loved having that effect on Carmilla’s mood. 

“We’re only a year apart. Shouldn't I be losing my shit too, then?” the amusement never left her eyes as a smirk found its way to her lips. Laura didn't know it, but Carmilla and Will had been adopted when they were four and five. Lilita Morgan was proudly graced with their tiny presences after visiting an orphanage when she was in her mid thirties. She spent so much time and love trying to encourage them at school and with social groups, making sure they got the same perks as all the other kids. 

Carmilla was incredibly grateful that her mother had that much compassion for them and she loved each and every moment they were able to spend together.  
Lilita started working full time with her business partner Matska Belmonde, when Will turned thirteen. She knew they could take care of themselves if they had to and she wanted to reconnect with the work industry and the adult community. 

It shaped Carmilla’s world, knowing that you really could choose your family. She understood that her biological parents loved her and William but, she couldn't remember much of them. They were definitely caring and wanting of a family, but they were so young and inexperienced. 

In fact, Carmilla was the same age as her mum would have been when she had her. 

Seventeen wasn't the right time to have your second child in Carmilla’s opinion. You haven't really experienced the world or what it had to offer you. 

She was sure that if she had to have a kid right now, she would do the same thing as her mom did. She didn't have a stable income, had no idea how to take care of a kid and she was probably too immature to have a tiny human in her care let alone two. 

“Come to think of it…” Laura sat up, examining Carmilla with mockingly thoughtful eyes. She pointed at her chest, motioning the shape of a duck. 

The brunette parted her lips, fending off the smile threatening to slip onto her face. Laura just raised her eyebrows and laughed so hard, Carmilla thought she might be choking. 

In a split second decision Carmilla threw her singlet to the ground and leaped onto the bed, tackling the smaller girl into a rough bear hug. Laura let out squeals and whimpers, trying to stop laughing at the same time as start breathing.

Carmilla flipped them over, her back against the bed. She let Laura have the smallest break for air, before she flipped them back over and straddled her, effectively pinning her to the bed. 

With every change of placement, Laura let out a squeak, holding onto Carmilla's shoulders to make the inevitable transition smoother. 

Laura closed her eyes, breathing in deeply like she had been holding her breath under water. It felt like her lungs were trying to jump out of her chest. 

She opened them, smiling up contently at Carmilla. She had a wide smile Stretching across her lips and her hair was wildly hanging against her face. She caught Laura's eyes clearly searching for something before her smile turned into a smirk. 

Laura hadn't realised that her hands were still grasping at Carmilla's shoulders. They had bunched up some of the fabric, crinkling the duck shirt, but neither of the girls made a move to disconnect from each other. 

Laura looked down at their bodies, both breathing in heavily, moving as one. She let go of Carmilla's shoulders and placed her hands on the outside of her thighs, letting them rest comfortably over her sport shorts. She didn't know why, but it felt good to feel her warm skin beneath the synthetic material contract.  
Carmilla cleared her throat and hopped off the bed, pushing Laura's hands away with her legs and picking up her change of clothes. Her heart beat was out of control and she couldn't afford to push her luck with Laura. Even though it was just play fighting, all of the contact was digging up feelings she was supposed to be burying deep. 

“Are you okay?” Laura asked from the bed. She was sitting up, her eyes watching the rigid movements of Carmilla's back. She didn't know what she did wrong, but she missed Carmilla's weight on her. It was comforting and somehow made her feel lighter, which didn't make sense, but she was only solving one query at a time. 

“Yeah, just look at the time, we’re going to miss Danny's heat,” 

She made a show of checking her non-existent watch before she turned around and offered Laura a strained smile. 

That was strange. Carmilla didn't even want to go to Danny's trial to begin with, what suddenly made her want to support the tall ginger?

She turned back around and basically ripped the light blue shirt off replacing it with the singlet at lightning speed. Laura had never been this confused before. 

Everything was going great until… Until she put her hands on Carmilla's thighs. She overstepped, but she didn't mean anything by it. It was just more comfortable in the moment. She didn't mean to freak her out or give her the wrong idea. 

Laura wouldn't do that without asking first if she wanted it to go _places_. She didn't think it was that intimate of a gesture, but if Carmilla was uncomfortable about it then she needed to apologise. 

There was no way Carmilla would bring it up, so it was her job to initiate the conversation. 

Laura stood from the bed and slowing approached Carmilla. She waited for her to turn around, reaching for her hands when she did and holding them. She avoided Laura's eyes, glancing around her room instead. 

“Hey, look at me,” Laura said gently, running her thumb over Carmilla's knuckles. She flicked her eyes to Laura's, letting her see all of the questions and mental battles she was struggling with. She knew Laura wouldn't be able to figure out what was going on, so she wasn't worried about that. She was worried that this would keep happening. 

If she kept pulling away every time Laura barely touched her then Laura was going to start asking questions and Carmilla wasn't equipped to answer them. 

“I'm okay, I-I just thought you might be suffocating,” Carmilla lied straight to Laura's face, forcing a playful smirk onto her lips to avoid suspicion. 

Laura's gaze visibly relaxed and her serious expression of concern turned into an annoyed smile after a second of hesitation. 

“So instead of checking if I was breathing you ran away? Are you sure that's what it was?” she asked knowing Carmilla wasn't being honest. 

Carmilla swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, making a loud gulping sound after being caught. 

“I figured you could use some space to breath or whatever,” She rolled her eyes and shrugged before Laura let go of her hands and softly pushed her back into the wall. It wasn't threatening, but Carmilla was still intimidated by the smaller girl. She knew very well that Laura could take her down if she wanted to. 

“Let's go before we miss the rest of the trial,” 

“Pants,” 

“What?” 

“I have to change my pants, I'll see you down there,” Carmilla closed the door behind Laura and closed her eyes in frustration. She would never tell anyone, but lying to Laura was ridiculously hard and built up a lot of tension in her body. 

She could lie to basically anyone except for Laura and Lilita. They had this pulled over her, like she couldn't do it without feeling like she was lying to herself. 

She opened her eyes wide and breathed in as deeply as she could. She let it out slowly and grabbed the jeans she wore the previous day, chucking them on and trudging down the stairs to the front door. 

Laura was in the car, looking at something in her hands before she looked up and smiled happily at Carmilla. She turned back to the door and slipped the key in the lock, fully securing that house and getting in the car. 

Laura watched every move she made, trying to brush what had happened minutes before off. It's not like it meant anything serious, they just got carried away. She may have done something that could be considered intimate, but they always showed affection to each other. It was natural for them and Laura felt like Carmilla was drifting away from their normal state of friendship. 

Hopefully the sleepover would help bring Carmilla back. Imagine me and you was their favourite movie to watch during sleepovers and they always cuddled up to each other, so she would know for sure if there was something wrong by then. 

 

****

 

“YES, D-BEAR! YOU'VE GOT THIS!” Kirsch yelled from the stands as Danny jogged past him, warming up. 

“KIRSCH! I'M NOT A BEAR!” She yelled back, knowing he wasn't going to stop, but feeling like she should remind him of the biological fact. 

“She totally likes you, bro,” Will stated, leaning his arms on the railing in front of them. 

“You think so?” he was clearly hopeful, but the insecurity in his tone was all Will needed to know he wasn't confident. 

“You're perfect for each other, of course she's into you,” he said it like everyone knew, but no one really did. 

Kirsch kept his eyes focused on the group of girls getting ready to compete. They were all shorter compared to Danny, so his attention was immediately drawn to her. 

“I don't know, She told me I wasn't her type,”

He kept his eyes on her, following the long strides she took as her first heat started for the two hundred. He hadn't even heard the firing gun go off and he could tell Will was speaking, but he already knew Danny wasn't interested, no matter how many times he asked her out. 

Persistence really wasn't the key in this case. 

“Listen, man. I'm done with chasing her. There are plenty of girls that I could probably fall for, so why not chase someone else. I'm pretty sure SJ from my business class said I was cute one time, maybe she would be up for a date,” Kirsch said determinedly, making sure Will wasn't going to argue. 

“Yeah, she's pretty cute, plus she's got a nice as-uh, personality,” Will knew Kirsch didn't like to objectify girls that much and tried to change the way he thought and spoke about the matter. 

It made sense that girls wanted to be treated with respect, he knew that he would want the same respect as everyone else, so that's what he did. Most of the time. Sometimes it was hard when he wanted to appreciate a girl with his friends, but he knew that wasn't an excuse. 

If mother heard him talk about a girl in such a way, she would have his head. She was very good at teaching them about the world and she didn't leave out any of the tougher subjects. Especially when Carmilla or Will had questions. Carmilla had a lot more questions than Will did, but perhaps it was because she was considered to be out of the ordinary by a lot of people. 

Her questions were always incredibly hard to answer and he was impressed mother could even keep up with her daughter. 

But right now he didn't want to think about Carmilla. He felt bad that he asked Theo to freak Laura out, but apparently it had gone the opposite way. 

So Carmilla and Laura were happily dating, it still didn't change the fact that she hasn't told him until it was hot gossip on Facebook. 

He should let it go, it really wasn't that big of a deal, but it felt so aggravating to hear from someone she barely talked to. But letting go of it at least until his party was over would probably be a good idea or else Carmilla wouldn't help set up with him or clean the house afterwards. He needed her this weekend, he wasn't going to do all of the dirty work alone.


	5. Our lips keep moving, but my heart stays still

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dress shopping and party time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, friends! (I feel like exclamation marks are aggressive, but never the less) Hope you're all well and feeling positive because it's been a long day and I just want to hibernate forever. 
> 
> This is a longer chapter because I'm back at school and I have no idea if I'm going to be as consistent in updates, but I wanted to grace you with something I wrote before I had two weeks worth of tears bottled up. 
> 
> To conclude this little display of sleep deprivation and sadness I would like to say from the bottom of my heart that I think you're all worthy of happiness and you're cute, so don't let anyone get you down and keep at it.

Will had finally decided to speak to Carmilla. She was so relieved when she got into the tiny car and he greeted her without hesitation. 

“Did you see Danny run? I never knew she was that fast. I mean obviously she was fast, but that was amazing,” Will started initiating the conversation. He must have calmed down since Thursday morning cause he didn't usually compliment people. Like, ever. Unless he was trying to get in their pants. 

“Yeah, the jolly giant surprised us all,” 

Laura and Carmilla made it back to school in time to see Danny’s second race for the one hundred. There were a lot more people than Carmilla would have originally anticipated to show up at a school event, but Laura said that was normal. 

They took a seat up the back, getting a good view of the whole track. They kept watching as people started to leave. Laura wanted to congratulate Danny on passing the first stage and of course, she was dragging Carmilla with her. After all they were girlfriends. 

“Did Laura say anything to her?” Will asked slowly, like he was trying to gage everything that happened in that moment. 

Laura did say a lot to her. Not just about her success on the track, but quite a bit about her and Carmilla and there was no way she was going to tell Will about that. It was interesting that he wanted to know if Laura spoke to her. He had nothing to do with Laura or Danny before, so it was suspicious that he would ask such a question. 

“Yeah, she congratulated her afterwards, why?”

“Well, don't they have history? I mean, Danny asked her out, so she obviously likes the tiny gay,” he rubbed his thumbs over the steering wheel thoughtfully, trying to act like he was concerned and hide the callous tone he wanted to use. 

“Yeah, Laura said no, remember?” Carmilla was annoyed that he brought that up. She already didn't like Danny and the fact that she wanted to date Laura heightened her dislike, but she would never try to stop her if that's what Laura wanted. 

“I don't know. Now that she's a track star Laura's attraction might be swayed,” he pronounced every word like it was a part of a Ted talk speech, rolling it out gently. 

“Good try, Willy boy, but I'm not worried,” Carmilla stated, knowing Laura wouldn't date Danny. Laura told her she wasn't interested, then texted Carmilla everything that happened in good old Laura Hollis-fashion. 

~

_**Sundance:** GUESS WHO JUST ASKED ME OUT!! YOURE TOTALLY NEVER EVER EVER GOING TO GUESS RIGHT!! _

_**The friendly vampire:** Was it Ashley? Cause if you said yes I don't think we can be friends anymore. _

_**Sundance:** YOU WOULD NEVER LEAVE THIS FRIENDSHIP! WHO ELSE WOULD LET YOU EAT THEIR COOKIES?! BUT IT WASNT HER AND I SAID NO BUT I WANT YOU TO GUESS _

_**The friendly vampire:** I'm sure I could find another sugar addicted to share with.   
Was it Brian? Or Antonia? Wait was it Danny? _

_**Sundance:** DANNY!!! SHE WAS SO SHY AND CUTE BUT I DON'T REALLY LIKE HER LIKE THAT TBH I WOULD RATHER DATE YOU THAN HER! _

_**The friendly vampire:** Thank God. I definitely wouldn't have stayed if you said yes. Eww._

~

“Whatever, just don't come crying to me when she breaks your heart,” Will sighed over dramatically.

“i don't know why you're so worried about Laura. You never cared about all of the other girls so what's so different about her?” Why was Will being so ignorant? He knows how many girls she had flings with before this whole fake dating thing, so why is he suddenly so invested in her love life? 

“I know how much you like her, dimwit. She's not just one of the other girls, she's your best friend. You're so blind,” he scowled, shaking his head and concentrating on the road. Maybe Carmilla was being truthful about this whole relationship, but she couldn't see the most important parts. 

Laura definitely liked Carmilla, but not to the same extent as his sister. He knew what she looked like when she was whipped and she was obviously whipped. It was written all over her face when she spoke to or talked about her ‘girlfriend’. 

Carmilla went silent, realising why he had been acting so weird. He wasn't being an asshole just because he could. He actually cared about the outcome of their relationship. 

It was twisted beneath all of the annoyed looks and passive gestures, but deep down he cared. That made her heart swell inside her chest. He might be out of line sometimes, but he's trying to show his concern and protectiveness.

To think everyone called Carmilla the softy. 

 

****

 

It was Saturday morning and Laura was already freaking out. She had no idea what to wear to the party, but she wanted to look hot. She rarely got the chance to dress up, always choosing to either stay home and have a sleep over when she got invited to parties that Carmilla didn't or she dressed casually. 

Carmilla said the dress code was casual, but for some reason she wanted to go all out. 

She called Lafontaine, hoping they were awake and could help. It was around eleven and Laura didn't really know when her friends woke up on weekends, other than Carmilla. She was a late riser, which Laura didn't mind. She was a lot softer when she was asleep and Laura liked testing how loud she could be without waking her sleeping beauty. 

“Hello?” Laf picked up and answered groggily, like the call had been their alarm. 

“I need your help today, when can you be ready to go shopping? It's for Will’s 18th and I'm kind of having a mini panic attack. I want to wear a dress, but I don't have any that aren't flower prints and I want something solid and confident. Are you in?” Laura rushed out, knowing Laf would ask questions if she didn't say much. 

“I'll pick you up at twelve. Try not to hurt yourself, Lizzie McGuire,” and with that they hung up, fending off the regret that was already creeping into their bones. 

Laura let out a relieved breath she didn't remember holding in and let her shoulders fall from their tense shape. 

She had an idea about what she wanted, something in a dark colour, maybe some lace with a nice design. She knew she wanted it to be tight on top and flowing on her legs, so she could at least be somewhat comfortable. 

Hopefully she could find something along those lines and surprise everyone later that day. She was so sick of being the nice, cute girl everyone underestimated. She wanted to show a different side of herself that only Carmilla knew. It had taken her a long time to build up the courage to do something like this and she was tired of waiting for the perfect moment to show it. 

She picked herself off of the bed and strolled to the bathroom, preparing for Lafontaine to come and get her. 

They were probably going to kill her before she even got to the party, but that was a risk she had to take. 

 

****

 

“So, why are we here, again?” Lafontaine said after sipping on what Laura assumed was coffee and pushing their sunglasses further onto their nose. 

“I need a dress that makes me look like a badass,” 

“And I'm here because?”

Laura glared at them. “ _because_ I need a second opinion.”

 

They were walking through the mall, dodging swarms of old people, teenagers and pram pushers. Lafontaine had made sure to bring their phone and money for snacks, whereas Laura had her doctor who backpack full of emergency gear. Laf wasn't sure where she planned to pack her dress, but for all they knew Laura could have another bag inside her backpack, so they weren't worried. 

“Sweet, I can do that,” Laf gave up, knowing if they kept whining Laura's mood would change for the rest of the day. It was obvious that she wanted to have a good night, especially if she was willing to go to this length. 

They stopped at a dress shop that was almost deserted and started looking through the racks, trying to find something like what Laura described in the car.   
“Okay, I think I got something,” Laf pulled one of the dresses from the metal pole, holding it up in front of their face to give Laura a good view. 

It was nice, but it wasn't anything special. The body was black, with a wide, deep collar cut off and two holes on each side of the waist in the shape of thin triangles exposing some skin. The rim of the holes and bottom of the skirt were lined with a gold lace, giving it an outline. 

Laura hummed in the back of her throat and squinted at the dress. She liked it, but it wasn't what she was looking for. She had a clear vision of what she did want and this dress just didn't cut it. 

“Nah, keep looking.”

Laf pulled their arm down and put it back, rolling their eyes when Laura walked to a different section of the store.

“Hey! I think I found one!” the honey blonde said excitedly, rushing over to Laf with it and pulling them along to the fitting rooms. 

They didn't get a good look at it until Laura emerged from one of the cubicles with a nervous grin. 

It was a dark burgundy colour with a low V down the middle of her chest, stopping just before the end of her ribcage. It was sleeveless and had a lace design that covered the skin on her chest from being completely exposed. The lace continued onto the thicker material, meshing the different tones of the dress, creating a powerful and charming statement. 

“You look hot, Hollis,” they complemented, smiling happily at Laura's changing expression. 

To say she was happy with the dress would be an understatement. It clung to her body perfectly, not too tight and her skin was beautiful in contrast to its darkness. 

She puffed out her chest and pulled back her shoulders correcting her posture and taking a moment to appreciate what she had found. 

“I think this is the one!” she spun around on the spot, watching the fabric collect around her mid thigh and fall back to its original shape. 

“Let me check the price tag,” Lafontaine beckoned her over, gently pulling the tag from Laura's back and reading it's amount. 

“This is on sale. How do you always have such good luck?” 

“It's probably got something to do with my second opinion,” Laura said, turning around and smirking at Laf, holding her hand up, waiting for them to high-five her. 

“You're such a loser,” they scowled jokingly and pushed her off and into the small change room. There was no time to waste, even if they were happy for the tiny gay. 

“I'm pretty sure I'm a winner, today,” Laura giggled while she slipped out of the dress and put her jeans and Buffy jumper back on. 

They were off to the cash register, with the dress in hand and smiles all round. She paid and they left, getting away from all of the crying babies and slow migrations of teens. 

Lafontaine drove her home, bidding her good luck for the party with a wink and chuckle when Laura glared at them. 

 

****

 

Carmilla was setting up the drinks table when she heard a crashing sound from outside. It sounded like a bunch of timber and metal clattering noisily, before she heard Will cursing. 

She put the stack of cups in her hand down and strolled out the back door to see her brother balancing a table sideways. He was stretching out the legs of an old fold out table in the middle of their concrete patio, trying to pull out the rusted supports and balance it at the same time. 

“Do you want some help?” Carmilla asked lazily, walking over to the table and holding it up right. It was heavier than it looked and she now understood why Will was so frustrated. 

“Thanks,” he grunted, managing to yank one of the sides free. 

Carmilla looked around the back yard that would be filled with drunk teenagers in a matter of hours. 

The block they lived on was a decent size, with a wide grass range spreading across the perimeter, meeting a small scatter of old oak trees that were perfect for climbing. The property had been Lilita’s patents home before they passed away and handed it down to her. 

She was in despair for a long time, but knew she needed to be strong for Carmilla and Will. 

Before that they lived in a small house, with a tiny backyard, only big enough to store a swing set and one tree. After Carmilla's grandparents passed away when she was fourteen, Lilita didn't think twice about moving. 

It was the same year they moved to Silas high and started their lives in a new area. Carmilla was more than happy to start fresh, but Will left a lot of his friends behind. It was harder for him in that respect. 

He pulled the other leg out, letting a content sigh spill from his mouth as he stood up. 

“Thanks for the help, Kitty,” he smiled genuinely and softly punched her shoulder, earning a playful glare and a push in the back as he tried to slip past her. 

Lilita chose that moment to walk outside with a couple of fold out chairs in hand to see the play fight evolving into something more aggressive. 

“Now, now. Carmilla, what have I said about learning to deflect and deflate?” she asked amused by the scene in front of her. 

“Yeah, Carmilla. Why would you do such a thing?” Will drawled cheekily, dramatically clutching his chest. 

“Careful William, playing dirty won't get you anywhere, other than the trunk of someone's car,” Lilita warned, shocking both of her children. 

Carmilla giggled, raising her eyebrows at Will and shaking her head when he shot her an eye roll. 

“I'm gonna go finish up inside, try not to get kidnapped before your party,” she joked, heading to the drinks table and organising everything to look somewhat presentable. 

She stacked the last of the blue plastic cups when her phone vibrated in her back pocket. 

She slid it out of her black skinny jeans and unlocked the message bar, knowing it would be Laura. 

Surprise, surprise, it was exactly who she guessed. Then again she doesn't text anyone else, so that wasn't hard to predict. 

**Sundance:** I JUST REALISED THERES ARE GOING TO BE SO MANY PEOPLE FROM SCHOOL AT THE PARTY!! CARMILLA!!! 

**The friendly vampire:** Yeah, that's how 18ths work, you invite a bunch of friends from school and get wasted, what's your point? 

**Sundance:** THEY ALL THINK WE’RE DATING!! YOURE MOM IS GOING TO BE THERE!!! I FEEL LIKE I'VE WRECKED YOURE LIFE :(

**The friendly Vampire:** Oh my god, calm down. We’ll just have to tell her too. And you didn't wreck my life. If anything you made it more interesting

**Sundance:** INTERESTING?! I DESTROYED YOUR LOVE LIFE!! HOW DO YOU EVEN LOOK ME IN THE EYES?? 

**The friendly vampire:** You became my girlfriend. How is that destroying my love life? Didn't you do the opposite? ;) 

**Sundance:** OMG you're ridiculous <3

Carmilla chose to savour this moment instead of letting it get to her. She wouldn't be able to avoid Laura, so she might as well spend her time trying to do the impossible and woo Miss Hollis. 

“Hey, Carmilla? Can you come and help clean up the chairs?” 

Carmilla put her phone away and followed the sound of her mother's voice to the patio. She was dusting off all of the seats, creating a small dust clouds as she went. 

Lilita looked up as Carmilla arrived, noticing the faint smile graced on her daughter's lips. 

“So, there's something I need to tell you,” Carmilla nervously tapped her fingers on one of the clean chairs, waiting for her mother to acknowledge what she just said. 

She nodded, keeping an open mind about what this could possibly be. She had only seem Carmilla nervous on two occasions; when they first met and when she mentioned that she liked girls at age thirteen. 

“Laura and I are dating and I thought you might want to know,” Carmilla bit her lip, waiting for the approval that she didn't need, but wanted. 

“That's nice, honey. We’ll have to invite her and Rob over one of these days,” 

She continued brushing the seats down, not looking up or showing the slightest notion of disapproval. Carmilla's smile grew wider as she picked up a rag and mirrored Lilita’s action. 

 

****

 

Laura was ready to go. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, making sure not to crease the classy dress before she even got to the party. She was nervous to wear it in a place full of teenagers and friends, but it was a different kind of nervous to her usual ‘I didn't study for the test and this could affect my whole grade’ nervous. 

It could only be described as romantic. It was making her chest swell, stomach fill with butterflies, her heart rate inconsistent and increasing and to top it all off, she couldn't wait to see Carmilla’s face when she showed up. 

She knew the taller girl wouldn't be expecting it and the excitement she felt was beyond comparison to anything she had experienced. 

Which didn't make much sense because Carmilla was her best friend and having romantic feelings that involved her was quite strange. She wanted to read into it, but she couldn't focus on anything other than Carmilla, making her ever more confused. 

She was curious about what she would wear, how she would smell, how she would wear her hair and mostly if she would be as surprised as Laura was about the way the dress cascaded down her toned figure. 

Which also made no sense because it made Laura sound like she _wanted_ Carmilla to check her out. Friends were allowed to check each other out, though. It was completely platonic and didn't make her feel the warm feeling spread through her body when she pictured Carmilla wearing a well fitted tux. There was no connection between them as a real couple. 

Sure, they had fun flirting and making each other blush, but it wasn't couple material. It was a fact that Carmilla was beautiful, anyone with eyes would say the exact same thing, but Laura knew her. Really well.  
She knew Carmilla was almost never serious when she was being snarky and that she was a lot smarter than she let on to most people. She knew random, stupid things about her that were insignificant to an outsider, but the most important, adorable quirks made Carmilla so much more than just a pretty face and witty comebacks. 

How could Laura not fantasise about her? From her end, acting like she was in love with Carmilla was easy. She didn't have to fake much, but that didn't mean she really was in love with her. Did it?

“Laura, are you ready to go?” she heard her dad's voice from downstairs, but that single thought lingered in the foreground of her mind. 

She blinked slowly, coming out of whatever trance she had been under and looking in the mirror one last time. This was it. She was going to try and impress her best friend that she definitely did not have feelings for and enjoy everything tonight had to offer. 

“Yep, coming,” 

She paced down the stairs and grabbed her black leather boots from the shoe rack and slipped them on. Rob was already in the garage, rolling down the door and starting the car. 

Laura got in the passenger seat and smiled at her father. He glanced at her before refocusing on driving the car out of the garage and onto the road. 

“You look nice,” 

“Thanks, Lafontaine helped pick out the dress,” she smiled anxiously.

Laura knew what was coming. She could already hear the distant whispers of safety precaution, emergency procedures and warnings she had been lectured on hundreds of times before.

He wasn't just going to send her to an 18th without making sure she had a safe plan for any and every situation known to teenage kind. Or at least that's what Laura expected, but as they got closer to their destination Mr. Hollis didn't say a word. 

Once they were pulled up on the curb of the Karnstein’s property, he turned his attention to Laura. 

“What time are you getting home?” 

“Carmilla said she would drop me off at twelve-ish,”

“Good. If you need anything feel free to call me, kiddo. I'll be back on Monday morning, so make sure to eat actual food. Not just grape soda and cookies,” he gave a pointed look that softened into a smile when she grimaced in embarrassment. 

“I'll figure something out. I love you, big bear,” 

She leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck, tightly hugging the broad man. He patted her back and pulled away to let his little girl go. 

“Go and have fun, I'll see you on Monday,” 

They exchanged one last encouraging smile and Laura got out of the car, heading straight through the balloon tied gates following the brick edged path to the front door. 

She took in a deep, shaky breath and knocked loudly on the door. She could hear quite a few people inside and it dawned on her that she might not have been heard. 

After what seemed like forever, but was really half a minute she figured she wasn't loud enough and reached for the handle to let herself in. 

She shut the door behind her and took a look around the house. There were no people to be seen, but she could hear the noisy ruckus unfolding towards the living room and backyard. 

“Laura, honey. It's so good to see you!” 

Lilita shouted from the kitchen, sticking her head out of the room, while balancing a plate full of appetisers in both hands. 

“Hey Ms. Karnstein! How's everything going?” 

She made her way to the kitchen, taking one of the plates from the older woman's hands and smiling brightly as she Kissed her cheek in hello and thank you. 

“Great! It's already buzzing, I didn't expect so many of these kids to turn up on time, but maybe punctuality is making a comeback,”

Laura chuckled and followed Lilita to a table set up for food. There were swarms of boys everywhere, especially near the food table. As soon as they put the plates down the great migration began, with stampedes of sweaty bros heading hastily to the table.   
Laura could have sworn she wouldn't have made it out alive if Lilita didn't shoo her away quickly. 

“Carmilla's upstairs in her room if you wanted to escape this hormone fuelled hell,” 

Lilita straightened her back and aligned her shoulders in flawless grace, gesturing with open palms at the crowd. Her smile was excited and classy, but her eyes let on to a mortified undertone as she watched the scene behind Laura grow restless. 

“If you need any help during the night, I'm sure Carmilla and I will be able to help,” 

“I'll be fine, my sisters coming later on with pizzas, so this won't last too long,” 

“Well, good luck surviving!” 

Laura waved calmly and headed down the hall to the stairs. She hadn't thought about Carmilla and her previous crisis until she placed her foot on the first step. She smoothed out the fabric around her hips, nervously searching for something to distract herself with. 

She made it up the stairs mildly slower than her normal pace and took cautious strides to Carmilla's bedroom door. It was creaked open, letting out the warm glow of a yellow lamp and a small view of the room. From what she could see Carmilla wasn't in shot. There was the sound of low music playing in the background, letting Laura know someone was around. It became obvious as to who would be in Carmilla's room, listening to Carmilla's music, hiding away from all of the people. 

Laura recognised the song because Carmilla played the same playlist every time they studied at her house and this song was hypnotising.

How could she forget Kat Vinter’s voice in ‘Downtime’? It was magnetic. 

She took a moment to sooth the nerves she was bottling up and contain her hair, that was doing whatever it wanted. She let the beat of the song guide her movements, helping to regulate her breathing. 

She saw a silhouette cross the bedroom and figure Carmilla must have been on the other side of the room. Laura opened the door silently and was greeted with Carmilla's back to her and head down, looking at something on her desk. 

She was sporting Laura's favourite button up that was black with dark red roses spread out all over it and those tight leather pants that always managed to make Laura lose her focus. 

She took this opportunity to creep up behind the brunette and wrap her arms around her waist. Laura felt the warm surface of soft skin and stilled her hands as her eyes grew wide. Carmilla tensed at the feeling, jumping out of the tiny arms, knowing exactly who it was, which made the fact that she hadn't buttoned up her shirt incredibly embarrassing. 

She scrambled to do up the buttons as fast as she could, not noticing the ones she accidentally mismatched. 

“Oh my god, I'm so sorry,” 

Laura covered her face with her hands, trying to give Carmilla a little privacy, but most hiding the tone of red that graced her cheeks. 

“No, no. It's okay, you can open your eyes,” she gently teased, being comforted by how cute Laura was acting about it. 

“Oh my god. Your shirts not done up properly. It's like you're trying to make me squirm,” Laura laughed as Carmilla fiddled with the accusing buttons, letting out a chuckle of her own. 

“You were the one who crept up on me, Cutie,” 

“I was trying to surprise you,”

“And you did that, as well as touch things only my girlfriend should. Oh wait…”

Laura tried to hide her smile with a menacing glare, but Carmilla saw straight through it. 

“Well in that case…” Laura stepped in towards her _girlfriend_ , unbuttoning her collar slowly, making perfect eye contact with a smirk playing on her lips. 

Carmilla stilled her hand with her own and pulled it down in between them, lacing their fingers together as an attempt to calm the increasing beat in her chest.   
“Hands off. I may be your girlfriend, but this took too many attempts to do correctly,” she took a wild stab at a joke, trying to change the tension in the room that was lighter. 

“I think you're right,” 

Laura reached out and redid the collar, smoothing it down with her fingers, lingering there for a second. She wanted to gage how she felt in the moment. She wanted to figure out if she was just physically attracted to her friend rather than crushing on her whole being. 

Carmilla looked down from Laura's occupied gaze to her soft lips. She traced their curves with her eyes, wishing desperately to touch them. She wanted to feel them against her own skin, her own mouth, in between her teeth. 

Laura hadn't noticed the distance closing between them as she leaned into Carmilla's hands, holding her elbows. It was as if she was falling into the embrace, letting her body take over. She flicked her eyes from Carmilla's collar to her face, searching for a reason to stop, instead finding something else. It could have been lust, but she was too caught up in the moment to properly investigate. 

Carmilla's eyes fluttered closed and her lips parted slightly. Laura realised what was happening when she closed her own eyes and felt a hot breath dance on her skin. This was it. This was the moment that Laura would be able to figure it all out. 

She pulled Carmilla's collar, trying to gain connection faster and silently encourage the moment. Their lips brushed together so lightly, Laura didn't register it happened until Carmilla leaned in deeper and started moving her lips. Laura melted at the sensation, reciprocating the movements and sliding her hands to loop around her neck, drawing their bodies flush against each other. 

Carmilla couldn't believe that it was real. There was no way Laura would touch her like this, and yet, here she was, exchanging all of her feelings and dreams for Laura's lips. It was tender and cautious and completely mesmerising. 

“Carmilla? Your aunt Sylvia just arrived.”

Lilita opened the door slow enough not to startle anyone, but apparently it didn't work because Laura practically pushed Carmilla away from her when she walked in. The girls shared a glance that Lilita didn't fail to miss. 

Laura's face told her everything she needed to know and a little too much. She was bright red and flustered with wide eyes and a strained look of sheepish embarrassment. 

Carmilla looked like she had seen a ghost, but the corners of her mouth were turned up, making it clear that she had barged in on a very intimate moment. 

“I'll be right down,” 

They offered each other tight smiles and Lilita decided she didn't need to make any of this more awkward, leaving before the tension could rise any further. 

The girls stared at a each other for what felt like years, taking in what just happened. They were silent, searching for how to continue, knowing there was no real way to forget about that kiss, Carmilla took it upon herself to defuse this bomb and say something. 

“You look incredible, Cupcake.” 

Probably not the safest thing she could have said, but she hadn't failed to notice how confidently graced Laura was since she walked into the room. The events weren't desirable, but she still managed to remain strong and that effort should be complemented. 

Carmilla looked down at her feet, embarrassed by how clique that sounded. It wasn't supposed to sound like she took her breath away, even if she did. 

“We should probably go, you know? Don't want to get in trouble for staying up here the whole night. Plus, your aunt is waiting and it would be bad hosting, to ignore a guest, especially if they're, related. Not to say that blood ties, are more important than friendships, just that she's waiting and I'm rambling, and you're just standing there and freaking me out,” 

Laura ran a hand through her hair, pushing it off her face to try and cool herself down. She wasn't worried about the kiss itself. She was worried about what it meant. She was so hopeful that it wouldn't be special. That it would be just another kiss and she could confirm her suspicions of attraction, but that's not what happened at all. 

“Hey, it was just a kiss. Okay?”

It pained Carmilla to say it, but Laura was reacting in panic. She was probably regretful that she initiated it or something. No matter what the reason for her anxious behaviour, Carmilla needed to put it behind them or possibly find Lafontaine and ask if they have any idea about constructing time machines. 

The only way she knew how to deal with rejection was to act disaffected and nonchalant. 

“Yep, just a kiss.” Laura cleared her throat, holding back the tears threatening to fall. “We should get down there,”

And with that, they were out the door and in the presences of a woman who looked basically identical to Lilita. 

Laura couldn't help, but steal glances at Carmilla as they were forced to converse with family and friends. All she wanted to do was curl up and cry, but she knew she wasn't going to get the chance. So instead she hid her fresh wounds and smiled at everyone she spoke to, accepting drinks and compliments from anyone who offered. 

There was no way she could contain everything without a little help.


	6. The perfect coat hanger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is thirsty whether its for cake, drinks or bang bang, everyone wants some.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the legal drinking age in Australia is 18 and I'm too lazy to research about drinking ages anywhere else, so yeah. 
> 
> This is an important chapter for me. I wrote most of it on hour long bus rides to and from school and it was honestly one of my highlights during the week. 
> 
> Side note the safety bars need to be lower. I'm 5'1. I can't reach all the way up there. These stubby arms weren't built for that kind of reach.

Laura was tipsy and it was clear to see. 

She was sitting on the living room couch next to one of Will's friends who was talking animatedly about a basketball game he saw a few weeks ago. She didn't know who he was or why he was talking to her, but she wasn't listening, so she wasn't bothered. 

She was thinking about the feeling of Carmilla's lips against hers and the tingling feeling it left on her skin.  
She wanted so badly to do it again. To dive deeper this time. And if Carmilla thought it was just a kiss, then it wouldn't be a big deal for her to do it again anyway. Right? 

Laura was her girlfriend and it was something girlfriends were allowed to do with each other. Just because they were fake girlfriends didn't mean they weren't allowed to fake kiss. That made perfect sense. 

Laura smiled at how smart she felt for coming up with that and looked at the guy sitting next to her. His hands were joining the conversation, giving visuals to a game Laura didn't care about. 

She just wanted to find Carmilla and make out with her. Was that so much to ask for?

“-and his face connected with his elbow and there was blood everywhere. It was insane!”

“Thats crazy, man, but I’ve gotta go to the restroom, “

“Yeah, I think the cakes about to happen anyway, so I'll see you around,” 

He got up and left, walking into the Kitchen to see if he was right. Laura was about to go and search the house for Carmilla when she felt a body press against her shoulder. She turned her head to see who it was, hoping that Carmilla somehow heard her thoughts and found her. 

To Laura's surprise the body belonged to Will. He took a sip from his cup, smacking his lips together once he swallowed and smiled at Laura.

“How's the birthday boy going?” 

“He's spectacular! The cakes coming out in a few minutes, soon he'll be ecstatic!” Will said, grinning from ear to ear and giggling. 

Laura laughed along with him, forgetting about Carmilla. 

“Shouldn't you be in the kitchen, then?” she asked comically. 

He held a breath in his cheeks puffing them up and exploding with more giggles, leaning into Laura's space. 

“I'll take that as a yes,” she giggled as well, taking in the sight of Will. 

He was clearly drunk with his pink cheeks, sweaty forehead and the smell of alcohol on his breath was terribly strong. 

“Laura, do you want to know secret?” he slurred, taking another gulp from his cup and smiling with all of his teeth. 

“Sure, Captain giggles. What's the secret?” 

“I like you,” he said thoughtfully, bopping to the song that just came blasting on. 

“I like you too, Will,” she said happily and chuckled as he leaned in close again. 

“No like, I really like you, man,” he wrapped her up in a bear hug and rocked them to the music, making Laura laugh loudly. 

“Like, I love you, man.” 

“Awwww, I love you too, man.”

“Thanks, Laura. You're so nice and your hair is so soft. How do you get it this soft?” 

He rubbed his face into her hair, tickling her neck and sending shivers down her back. 

“I know it's crazy, but I use conditioner.”

“CAKE TIME, BOIIIIIS” Kirsch yelled from the kitchen. Will let go of Laura, literally parkouring over her and the couch, heading straight for the kitchen. 

She was alone again, watching everyone flock to the sound of Kirsch’s voice when she spotted Carmilla in the hallway standing next to a guy that looked vaguely familiar. They were watching everyone herd towards the cake, laughing at something the guy said.

She couldn't help the pang of jealousy that spread through her chest, seeing her smile and laugh with him. She wasn't normally the jealous type, but that was her very cute and very kissable girlfriend. 

Laura stood from the couch and made her way to Carmilla's side, smiling at both of them as an announcement. 

“You must be Laura! Carmilla wouldn't shut up about you!” he laughed at his own joke, giving Carmilla a gentle nudge to the shoulder. 

He was tall, broad and had the same goofy grin as Kirsch. Since when did Kirsch have a brother? And why was Carmilla talking to him?? 

Laura didn't fail to notice the wink he sent Carmilla's way. It wasn't subtle at all and Laura really just wanted to wipe his smug, adorable smile from his face, but that would be rude. She needed to control herself. 

Sure she liked Carmilla, a lot. Of course everyone thought they were a happy couple, that's what Laura had dragged her best friend turned crush into. There was always going to be a reason for her jealousy, but this was ridiculous. 

Laura had never been so possessive. It wasn’t something she was used to and it was definitely a new area for her to explore, but not being sober was making her sad about everything. Or at least that's what she was telling herself. 

“What can I say? She gives me something to talk about,” Carmilla calmly waved him off, turning to Laura and kissing her cheek. Laura leaned into the touch that sent her jealousy flying out the window and drowned out the party around them. 

“I’m gonna go get some cake, apparently it's chocolate fudge,” He raised his eyebrows and nodded goodbye, heading to the table where the cake had been divided. 

Carmilla laughed when he basically ran there, reminding her of a toddler in a play centre. It must run in the family. 

“Do you want to get some air?” Laura asked, wanting to find an area a little less suffocating with cake eating jocks. 

“Sure,” 

Carmilla navigated them through the large swarm of boys, holding onto Laura's hand, so they wouldn't lose each other. 

She stopped walking once they were outside, closer to the oak trees than the house and turned to Laura to see if she was happy with the choice of spot. When she didnt say anything Carmilla took that as a good sign, but Laura had this weird look on her face. It was like a pout except she was leaning in towards Carmilla and her eyes were closing… wait a second. 

Carmilla quickly sat down on the grass, crossing her legs and patting the surface next to her. Laura opened her eyes, seeing Carmilla on the green surface. She was disappointed that she hadn't gotten the hint, but at least she knew where they stood now. 

Laura held out her hand, waiting for Carmilla to grab it again before lightly tugging on it. 

“Carmilla, my dress will get dirty,” Laura whined, trying to pull Carmilla back up to the concrete. 

“But it's nice here, there are too many people over there,”

“I literally just got this dress, I'm not wrecking it now,” 

“Come on, it's quiet here. The rustling of trees and a sky lite with stars, it's beautiful,” 

Carmilla looked around at the scenery, admiring how mysterious and luring it seemed at night. It wasn't windy, but the amount of movement in the branches could have fooled her. 

“Fine, but I'm using you as my seat,” 

Before she could protest, Laura was in her lap, leaning back against Carmilla's front and resting her head on her shoulder. 

“Just when I thought you had stopped using my as inanimate objects,” Carmilla shook her head and smirked. knowing Laura would understand that reference. 

“How do you even remember that?”

A year and a half ago, when sport was compulsory for all freshmen, Laura used Carmilla as a movable wall in a dodgeball game. They ended up being the only two left on their team and Carmilla got destroyed by several dodgeballs, while Laura just cowered behind her, untouched. 

That wasn't the only time Laura forgot her friend did indeed, have pain receptors, but it's probably best not to dwell on those stories. 

“Muscle memory,” she giggled, sending vibrations throughout Laura's body and a blush to her cheeks that Carmilla couldn't see. Thankfully. 

“I've apologised more times than you've worn black to school. Plus I will never stop using you as inanimate objects. You're a very useful door stopper.”

“I'm a good paper weight as well.”

“I think you're more of a cup holder.”

“I had a dream about being a coat hanger once.”

“You know what? I can kind of see that,”

They both went silent for a moment before breaking out into laughter. Carmilla thought after the kiss a few hours ago that Laura wouldn't want to talk to her, let alone laugh at terrible jokes with her. Maybe she was overreacting about everything and just needed to concentrate on the moment instead of getting caught up in over analysing and mixed signals. 

She had tried to avoid Laura once they were with everyone, finding it safer to talk about her, rather than with her because she was sure if Laura had of been by her side she wouldn't have concentrated on anything, but her lips. 

Carmilla sighed happily, leaning forward into Laura's back and snuggling her chin into her neck, feeling Laura shiver with the new heat hovering over her shoulders. 

“I like your dress,” Carmilla mumbled against her skin, letting her lips graze the smooth surface in between her neck and shoulder. 

Laura took a sharp intake of breath, forcing herself to stay still instead of doing something she would surely regret. 

“I like your shirt.” 

She was trying with all her might to stay calm. It was her duty as a Hollis to be calm in all kinds of situations, even If a situation involved a splash of alcohol, a pinch of seduction and whole teaspoon of friendship. _Friendship._ Friendship? 

“I know.” 

“How could you possibly know I like your shirt? Maybe I'm just saying that to spare your feelings.’

“Hey! It's a cool shirt and you know you love it.”

“What makes you so certain?” Laura didn't know Carmilla was so protective of her shirt. It was kind of fun to keep pushing her limits. Now Laura knew why Carmilla always did it to her. 

“The way you had a death grip on my collar before.” 

Well that wasn't exactly what Laura was expecting. 

“Maybe it's the girl wearing it.” Laura-no-chill-Hollis drawled, giving up on trying to be calm and keep her feelings locked away. 

Everything was a lot easier to deal with when she didn't know what she felt. Being uncertain and confused was better than knowing and clinging to false hope. 

And if she was going to be aware of her crush, she was at least going to flirt. It was her duty as a Hollis to turn that false hope upside down and pet it. 

“Oh my God, that was so smooth, Cupcake. Clique, but smooth,” smiling, Carmilla lifted her head from Laura's shoulder, feeling a little hopeful that Laura really meant that and that maybe she only freaked out before because they were moving too fast or something. Whatever it was, didn't seem as important to her any more. She just wanted Laura to feel comfortable and if they had a shot at a relationship then Carmilla was prepared to go as slowly as Laura needed to. 

“Thank you, thank you. I take requests,” 

“You're such a dork,” Carmilla chuckled, throwing her arms up in the air and letting them fall down onto Laura's stomach. 

“Please, you're more of a dork than anyone I have ever met,” she felt a tug directly below Carmilla's hands. She casually covered them with her own hands, biting her lip to stop the thoughts of Carmilla sliding her hand further down from blurring her sensibility. 

“You wish.”

“No, I know.”

“I’m the punk, you're the dork. That's how our relationship works,”

“So, you're only keeping me around because I’m a dork? Not because you actually like me or anything?” Laura asked sarcastically, knowing that Carmilla wouldn't be able to answer with a straight face. 

“Nope, you're purely my trophy wife,” she softly laughed in Laura's ear, sending goose bumps along her arms at the sweet melody’s rasp. 

“Good to know,” they both laughed. 

Carmilla felt comfortable like this. It was safe, just them and no pressure or expectations. Just them under the stars, wrapped up in each other having a good time. She loved moments like these because it felt like she wasn't pretending and protecting all of her feelings. She couldn't believe she had mistaken her love for Laura as platonic friendship, it seemed so bazaar now that she knew. 

It was their last year at Silas. Her last year of having no courage or the freedom in her own mind to be vulnerable. If anything in that moment could be over analysed it would be that thought. She's not going to keep shutting herself down every time something intimate happens with Laura. That's if Laura wants to keep pushing their very easily breakable line and pursue this relationship to its fullest potential. 

It's easy to think about all the opportunities she would be opening herself up to, but none of it scared her any more. It might have been maturity or the way Laura was relaxed in her arms, but she felt no need to hide behind her bedroom door or in the school bathrooms when it got bad. 

Pain and fear and sadness are all so frowned upon, but why? She couldn't figure out why it was such a big deal if she needed to cry or show that she is, in fact human and should be treated like one. These standards of having to be one hundred percent all of the time unless there's a physical reason baffled her. It's not just all in her head. Of course there are going to be times when someone else affects her mood, but the way they affect her is her own brain saying either _they're fucking right_ or _sure, Jan_ and that suckled sometimes. 

She wished this moment could last forever, but she knew everything had to end eventually, after all the night was nearly over. 

 

****

 

“It was good seeing you again, sweetie. Carmilla will have to invite you over more,” Lilita stated through a tired, but genuine smile. 

The party finally started to clear out around three in the morning, much to Lilita and Sylvia’s relief. They had been at the heart of the party, keeping plates full and badgering boys about orderly conduct inside the house. 

Least to say they had a rough night, but it was over, Will was passed out upstairs with a bunch of guys that were too drunk to drive home and Carmilla and Laura were leaving to finally fall asleep. 

Laura decided it was too late to watch Imagine Me and You while they were in the car. She dozed off, falling victim to the effects of sleep deprivation and leaving Carmilla to concentrate on the road, with tear in my heart by twenty one pilots playing softly to keep her vigilant. 

She tapped the wheel with her thumbs to the beat, smiling to herself as the lyrics hit home. 

_You fell asleep in my car I drove the whole night, But that's okay  
I'll just avoid the holes so you sleep tight_

She pulled into the driveway and switched off the engine, watching the lights go out to leave only the street lamp as a source of illumination. 

Laura was passed out, in a deep sleep and Carmilla shook away the idea of leaving Laura in the car and taking her bed. That might sound like a good idea, but there was nothing better than sharing a bed with Ms. Hollis. Strictly for slumber and not _other_ activities. That would be scandalous, especially tonight. 

Laura was so far gone that it wasn't much of choice anyway. 

“Hey, cupcake? Wake up.” Carmilla gently tugged Laura's arm, lifting it up high enough so that she could undo to seat belt without any obstacles. 

“Cupcake, you may look cute, but I can't carry you to the door and inside. These dainty arms weren't made for lifting dead weight. Not to mention I have no idea where the spare key is.”

The only response Carmilla got was Laura slightly moving her hand to the side and curly her fingers in a grabbing motion. 

“Cupcake,” Carmilla whined, getting out of the car and walking around to Laura's door. See pulled it open with little force and waited for Laura to open her eyes. Slowly, but surely she squinted, seeing Carmilla staring back at her with those caring, but annoyed eyes that Laura loved. 

“Okay… I'm coming.”

She got out of the car and strolled to the front door, standing still for a moment before sighing, taking off the door bell cover and pulling out a key. She was ready to go into hibernation for the winter at this point.

“Here, give me the keys,” Carmilla had her hand outstretched with the palm flat and waiting. 

Laura was relieved she wouldn't have to exert any more energy and was impressed that Carmilla could be so… awake. 

She had changed from those damn leather pants to something more suited to comfort, while Laura tried, but failed to stay conscious on her bed. 

How was it even possible for Carmilla to be so graceful, even at four in the morning? Laura had a theory that she savoured her energy during the day instead of exerting herself. Laura still didn't really know how to be calm like Carmilla, but she's come to be a little more relaxed over the past few years. 

She was a morning person and only slept in when Carmilla was over or she was sick. Carmilla on the other hand was most certainly a night owl. It was one of the reasons Laura sacrificed her mornings at sleepovers. 

They made it up the stairs before Laura started peeling off the dress in the middle of the hallway. 

It wasn't something Carmilla would normally pass up the opportunity to see, however she wouldn't be able to keep her mind off of all of her feelings, whether they were physical or emotional and she really didn't want to spend this sleepover wishing there was a little less sleeping and a little more skin. 

Laura seemed to have a different idea, with her entire back exposed, wearing only a pair of black stockings that were revealing black panties for Carmilla to see. She quickly turned around as a lump formed in her throat at the thoughts running through her head. She was fighting the urge to turn back around and stare, but she knew it was unfair to Laura and would be a huge mistake for her own mentality. 

She heard the bedroom door open and waited a few seconds before she turned back around to catch the sight of Laura's skin disappearing behind the closet door. She could hear drawers being opened and closed slowly, feeling like it was safe to walk in. 

As she did her eyes nearly betrayed once more, when Laura started to take her stockings off without noticing she wasn't blocked from view by the closet door any more. Carmilla saw her drag the fabric gently down her hips over her tanned skin to her mid thigh, before turning away again, feeling a tingling sensation in her abdomen. Great. She was turned on and about to crawl into bed with the girl responsible. Just great. 

“Carm, are you coming? Laura asked from underneath the covers with her eyes fighting to stay opened. 

Carmilla quickly took off her shoes and jumped in, trying to leave a considerable amount of space between them. She was on edge and was pretty sure that Laura's touch would make her even more frustrated. 

It took all of three seconds for Laura to wrap her arms around Carmilla's stomach and back, clinging to her like an oversized teddy bear. The shock of sensation it sent through Carmilla's body was probably close to that of an electric shock, jolting her muscles to tense underneath the pressure. 

“Why are you so stiff?” Laura whispered out against Carmilla's chest letting her face squish up in confusion. 

“Just got a shiver,” _lies._

She relaxed to avoid suspicion, letting her weight settle in her back and close her eyes. 

“Are you cold? Lemme help,” Laura dragged her legs on top of Carmilla's and tangled them, doing the exact opposite to relieve Carmilla of the stress building up in her core. How was she supposed to sleep now? With the girl she kissed, then avoided and acted like nothing had changed lying almost completely on top of her?

She wasn't built to hold this kind of tension inside her body. It was reacting to quickly to the smallest touches, whether it was the brush of Laura's fingers on her torso or the chest to chest position Laura had manoeuvred them into, it was all overwhelming. 

“Are you okay? Your heart is beating really fast,” Laura said, lifting her head from Carmilla's shoulder and looking at her face. She opened her eyes staring at Laura before untangling their legs and getting out of the bed. 

“I just need some air.” 

She quickly made her way out the door and to the backyard she had grown familiar to over the past few years. Laura was left in the bed, confused, tired and missing the warmth Carmilla gave her, but she knew something was obviously bothering the brunette. People don't just run away from sleepy snuggling. That would be insane. 

Carmilla let the coolish air dance on her skin, bringing relief to the heat her cheeks were exerting. She needed to clear her head, to feel something other than hopeless love and romantic longing for the girl she called Cupcake. She sat down on one of the rubber seats connected to the iron bar by two sturdy chains and swung back and forth, the air breezing against her closed eyes. 

She enjoyed simple, nostalgic activities like this. It was comforting to know she could always return to the most forgettable memories of her life by taking a moment to remind her muscles of such a familiar movement. She liked to think of her and Laura's relationship as a memory she would never have to forget, but there is always a small piece of her that is preparing for the day she has to forget about Laura and everything she has ever made Carmilla feel. It scared her to think of an end between them, but there was no certainty that it wouldn't happen. 

“Hey, is everything okay?” Laura gently padded outside to the swing set Carmilla took as her refuge and sat down on the other seat. She was having a hard time dealing with exhaustion, but fighting it for Carmilla's sake. If she needed to talk, Laura was going to stay awake to try and help.

“No.” Her voice sounded so broken and quiet, that Laura almost fell off of the set. Sure she always asked that question, but she never got an honest answer and it was almost surreal to listen to the openness and authentication that never presented itself in a reply. 

Carmilla was just going to say it. She had to or else it was going to eat her from the inside. 

“Laura, that kiss didn't mean nothing to me.”


	7. This isn't a cooking show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all hollistein. All of it. 
> 
> And they finally get to watch Imagine Me and You.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm drawing a massive photorealistic Elise Bauman for school and it's going pretty well, but I literally keep finding HB pencils in places they shouldn't be. 
> 
> I also edited this while I was at a party, so there is no telling what kind of quality it is. I'm sorry, but you're welcome.

“What?” Laura breathed out, as if she had been hit by an airborne fist to the stomach. The statement knocked the oxygen from her lungs and if she was fighting to stay awake before, she was bright eyed and bushy tailed after that confession. Now she was fighting the doubt from her thoughts instead. 

There was no way in hell or Hogwarts that _Carmilla_ out of all people, just said that. It was amongst the most impossible occurrences Laura could think of. If Carmilla was professing her love, Laura wasn't going to turn her down. Or at least she wouldn't completely reject her. 

It was true that she liked Carmilla more than just a friend and that physical attraction had a small part to do with the crush, but was she ready to be in a real relationship with her fake girlfriend? Carmilla had so much more experience compared to Laura and even though she shouldn't care about that, it made her feel like she was stumbling through a forest with no direction or help from anyone. She only had the smell of fresh rain and dirt to keep her going. 

“I can't stop thinking about you,” 

Carmilla ran a hand through her dark locks and held onto the chains from the swing tightly to keep from running away. She didn't know why she was spilling her heart out to Laura, but there wasn't really a point in stopping. It was either Laura felt the same way or she didn’t.

“Why?!” Laura was seriously confused. 

“You're an idiot,” Carmilla laughed nervously and shook her head. 

“That's why you like me? Isn't that a little concerning for you?” Laura tried to join in, but it just wasn't the right way for her to react. 

“Kind of? I mean, you're so smart, but right now I can't even tell if you're serious or not.”

“I’m always serious.” She laughed freely and it was the most calming thing to happen to her since she followed Carmilla outside. 

“Yeah, sure,” Carmilla looked at Laura like she was Jim on The Office. 

“I like you as well, but…” Laura was going to go for it, but she wanted to be completely honest. She couldn't say she was confident, but she had to put all of her cards down. 

Carmilla was ready to hear _Just not like that_ or _As a friend_. She had lost hope for this to go anywhere. Laura was opening and closing her mouth, trying to fathom the right way to say whatever it was she was trying to say, letting the silence last too long. 

“-but you don't like like me, right?” Carmilla looked down at her empty lap, wanting to run home and never leave her room ever again. This was why she should be locked away in a castle somewhere, with only kitchen utensils and furniture to keep her company. She would be better off. 

“No! No. I do, Carmilla. I like like you, it's just…”Laura was struggling again. It was like in her head the ordering of words was perfect, but as soon as she tried to say them out loud her mouth couldn't remember where to start. 

“How about we talk tomorrow. I like you and you like me, but it's not that simple apparently and your alarm is going to go off in like, two hours,” Carmilla stood from the set, offering her hand to Laura as she processed Carmilla's idea and nodded slowly. 

She was so shocked about everything that happened, that she hadn't even noticed how tired she was. Her eyes were basically closed as she ascended the stairs behind Carmilla's guiding hand and snuggled back up to Carmilla. This time she was holding Laura and it felt so safe, so homely. 

She couldn't remember feeling vulnerable and comfortable at the same time. Laura knew a lot more than Carmilla had initially intended to say, but so did Carmilla. She learnt some rather pleasant news and wasn't dreading tomorrow as much as she probably should have been, but with Laura curled around her body tomorrow seemed so far away. 

 

****

 

Who the fuck mows their lawn at two in the afternoon? What kind of monster had possessed Laura's next door neighbour to be so cruel? 

Whatever the ghastly beast had in mind for the day's activities included only the noisiest of them and showed no sign of stopping. 

Carmilla shifted in bed, underneath the covers and a much heavier weight than a normal blanket. She smiled when she remembered what exactly that weight was. 

“Carm, stop moving,” Laura mumbled, tightening her grip around Carmilla's waist and burying her head deeper into the crook of her neck. 

She was so tired from the party that even a lawn mowing demon sent from the pits of hell couldn't get in the way of her sleep in. Especially considering Carmilla was wrapped around her. 

“I can't sleep with all of this noise.”

“Try harder.” 

“Maybe we should have breakfast and watch Imagine Me and You.” 

Laura lifted her head ever so slightly to look up at Carmilla's closed eyes. She studied her face, trying to take a picture with her mind of all the cute little curves and quirks she could see. Her lips were curled up in a relaxed smile, her eyebrows were resting without the raised attitude Laura was so used to and the shape of her jaw was softer than the usual sharp edged structure. It was the most adorable thing Laura had ever seen. 

“I can feel you staring at me, Cupcake,” Carmilla mumbled and her smile grew into a smirk as she opened her eyes to confirm what she felt. 

“I wasn't staring, I was observing,” Laura sat up, freeing herself from Carmilla's tangled grasp and stretching her arms out behind her back. She caught a glimpse of the pout Carmilla was housing and giggled. 

“You think my misfortune is funny, huh?” the eyebrow raise was back with more Sass than ever. 

“Yes.”

“Maybe my misfortune isn't worth crying over. She is a huge nerd anyway,” Carmilla sighed dramatically. 

“Take that back,” Laura playfully leaned closer to Carmilla, trying to be intimidating, knowing that she wouldn't be affected. 

“Or what? You'll throw your doctor who figurines at me?” 

“I would never throw one of my figurines. Are you crazy?” Laura shook her head and frowned like Carmilla had threatened to hurt a beloved pet. 

She smirked and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep to avoid offending Laura. They both knew all of this was a joke, but it was bordering on personal and Carmilla wasn't going to say something she might regret. 

“Don't play dead. You can't avoid all of our arguments like this.”

Carmilla stayed quiet with closed eyes and the smirk still very present. It didn't surprise Laura that she would be talking to a corpse, but she still wanted her to at least bat an eyelid. 

There was a way she knew she could get Carmilla to react, but she wasn't sure if it counted as crossing a line or something. After last night's very awkward and very interesting swing set conversation she wasn't sure what was safe territory or not. 

But considering she woke up with her hands wrapped up in sheets, Carmilla's t-shirt and skin, surely what she wanted to do wasn't inappropriate. 

Without another thought, Laura jumped onto her, tickling her sides and armpits with nimble fingers. 

“Stop. Cupcake. I. Can't. Breath,” Carmilla choked out in laughter, sucking in air that seemed thicker than usual. 

“Tell me my figurines are cool and I'll think about it,” Laura smiled mischievously, watching her friend try to fend off the attack, but she was too slow and overwhelmed to really do anything effective.

“THEY’RE COOL! I SWEAR THEY’RE COOL!!” 

“I know! Have you seen my Rose Tyler one? It's my favourite.” Laura stopped her attack after Carmilla glared at her and grabbed her hands for security reasons. 

“You're a spaz.” 

“I'm allowed to be, we're in my house after all,” Laura said, moving her hands to hold Carmilla's, intertwining them at an odd angle and letting them sway between them. 

Carmilla couldn't argue with that and even if she tried, there was no way she would win. Laura was a master at debating and tickling. Mix those two together and you've got the ultimate warrior whether it was a joke or not. 

“So, breakfast?” 

“Yeah, and maybe we could talk about last night?” Laura asked nervously, fending off the thought of rejection from her head. 

Carmilla bit her lip, fighting off the anxious smile last night's events caused and nodded. She was pretty sure everything would be okay between them, but there was always going to be a little part of her that naturally expected the worst. 

Laura squeezed her hands and jumped off the bed, leaving Carmilla to stare at her back while she walked out the door and downstairs. 

She kept her eyes trained on the door as a burst of real, authentic hope course through her body. By some kind of miracle Laura did like her and there was no miscommunication last night. She said it. With her mouth. She said it at four in the morning on her old childhood swing set with sleep in her voice and Carmilla heard her. 

How incredible. 

“Are you coming? Or should I prepare only one?” Laura shouted from downstairs, practically singing the words as she moved around the kitchen. 

“I'm coming,” Carmilla hopped out of the messy layered covers and made her trek down to Laura, smiling the whole way. She almost tripped on the last step of the staircase, but caught herself before it would actually classify as falling. If Laura had of seen that, she would definitely not let it go. 

“So, what is Gordon-fucking-Ramsay preparing for the guest this morning?” Carmilla asked in a british accent as she waltzed into the kitchen and took a seat on one of the bar stools. She leaned her arms on the bench in front of her, feeling the cold, smooth surface against her skin. 

“The classic bacon and eggs with a side of toast,” Laura answered in a matter of fact tone. 

“Very interesting. Now is there anything you'd like to tell the audience at home?” 

“Yeah, go fuck yourselves,” Laura smiled sweetly and turned around with two plates full of the chosen dish. 

To say Carmilla was surprised at Laura's phasing was an understatement. She never swore. Never. And Carmilla was kind of turned on by it. 

“Okay…” Carmilla drawled, looking down at the plate Laura put in front of her. The food was arranged to make a smiley face with one of the pieces of bacon cut into a love heart. 

“So I want to be straightforward with you,” Laura started once Carmilla looked up. 

“I really like you, Carm. Like, a lot and I'm trying to figure out if I want to do anything about my feelings because kissing you was… indescribable and I just want to make you feel that way too.” 

Carmilla was taken aback. They were always pretty up front about most things, but she would never have had that much courage to say that in front of anyone.  
She owed Laura a little respect in her response, so she took some time to think about the best way to put the love and caution and appreciation into one answer. It's what Laura deserved. 

“You make me feel that way without even touching me, Laura and it's okay if you don't know yet. I have a feeling it won't change how I feel about you,” Carmilla grinned, watching Laura react was the cutest thing ever. Her cheeks went red, her nervous posture relaxed slightly and she tilted her head, letting her hair fall to the front of her face in an attempt to shield the embarrassment from Carmilla. 

“So, we’re good?” Laura smiled, looking back to Carmilla's waiting eyes. 

“We’re good. Do you want to take this to the couch?” 

For a moment Laura thought Carmilla wanted to get straight to _exploring their newfound closeness_ but then she motioned to their plates, picking hers up and hopping off the stool. Laura was in a mixture of disappointment and happiness. Disappointment because she really did want to taste Carmilla lips again (There's still plenty of time for that), but the happiness that filled her body after saying what she wanted to say so confidently overpowered any feeling of negative origin. 

 

****

 

 

_”You're a wanker number nine!”_

 

The movie was in full swing by the time Carmilla took the initiative to put her arm around Laura's shoulders. She was almost sickened at the thought of this being one of those clique movie dates, where the guy had to fake a stretch and put his arm on the back of the shy girl's seat. 

Luckily Laura settled into her embrace and leaned her front up against Carmilla's side, letting her hand rest on her leg. It didn't feel different to their normal Imagine Me and You sleepovers until it became obvious that Laura was gathering up the courage to make the next move. Whether it was the change in pressure of her hand on Carmilla's leg or the way she pushed her face closer to Carmilla's was beside the point. 

They were so close that she could feel Laura's breathe on her cheek. It was almost torture to have her hovering near her like that, when all she wanted to do was act on her instincts and crash their lips together in a heated kiss. 

She refrained, keeping her head level and eyes concentrated on the film. She didn't want to come on too strong, especially after Laura told her she liked kissing her, but wasn't sure how she wanted to approach the situation. Which meant that she had to wait for Laura to signal her first. 

“Do you want a drink?” Laura asked, breaking apart from Carmilla and gaining her full attention. 

“Yeah, do you have water? Thanks,” she frowned after she said it, realising that water was always available and waited for Laura to either laugh at her or shrug it off and walk away. 

She didn't say anything, turning around with almost no response and walked to the fridge, taking out a jug and pouring two glasses low enough to not spill on the way back. 

Carmilla stood up and stretched her back out, feeling a relief course through her muscles as blood circulated the tense and asleep areas. 

She let out as a sigh as Laura walked through the open double door, balancing the glasses calmly in each hand. 

“Thanks,” Carmilla took one of them and chugged it down, loving how it refreshed her mouth and throat from the dryness she hadn't noticed before. 

Laura sat back down, watching Carmilla put her glass on the small coffee table a foot or two away from the couch, completely empty. If she wanted another one she would have to get it herself because there was no way Laura was going to miss another second of the movie. 

Carmilla sat down with her side flush against Laura's and a content smile relaxing her face, close to when she was sleeping, but not as peaceful. Laura could tell there was something behind her eyes, sparking her curiosity in a way that was going to bug her to no end. 

There were certain looks she had grown used to for any and every occasion and this one was familiar in the _Your face is doing things it does when you're uncomfortable, but there's no obvious reason for your lack of comfort_ kind of way. 

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Laura gave in, knowing she wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything if Carmilla was hiding something. 

“I'm not thinking, I'm mindlessly staring at a screen with top notch content playing,” Carmilla said without taking her eyes of off the TV. Even that reply seemed uncomfortable and maybe even annoyed if Laura analysed it deep enough. 

“Is that why you're eyes are glazed over?” 

“They're not glazed over, you're just sitting on a weird angle that makes them seem glassy,” Carmilla looked into Laura's eyes, trying to provide proof that she was just reading into things and maybe getting lost in her best friend/girlfriend?/fake girlfriend’s eyes. 

She observed all the tones of brown she could find, all of the different patterns so close together, all of the small movements her eyelids and lashes made. It was like she was exploring an art gallery, every piece adding up to create the overall experience. Some pieces stood out more, alluding to bigger ideas and more possibility, while other elements lured her interest and challenged her perception. 

“You're right, this angle is better,” Laura smirked, her eyes squinting from the changed shape of her cheeks.

If Carmilla didn't want to share, she had every right to keep to herself and if Laura was going to play this off, she had every right to change the situation into one much better than where this could be going. 

Just because one of her plans had failed, didn't mean she couldn't kick the next one into full force. 

Carmilla groaned, hiding how excited she was to finally kiss Laura again. She could tell that that was where this was heading and she was a lot more prepared than the party. In anticipation she gracefully turned her body and let her legs drape over Laura's. 

“All of my angles are good,” Carmilla chuckled, earning an actual scoff from the honey blonde and a half-hearted eye roll.

“You're ridiculous,” Laura wrapped her arms around Carmilla's neck, drawing her in closer with no intention of backing up. This is all she had wanted for the past nineteen long, frustrating hours and nothing could possibly destroy the perfect moment she somehow found herself in. 

“That's just how you like it,” Carmilla inched forward slowly, smiling like a fool who just discovered microwavable popcorn as Laura shook her head in disbelief. 

“Laura? Is that you?” Rob's voice echoed through the house, startling Carmilla more than Laura. She had gotten used to him announcing himself with no warning. It was something he liked to do to keep her on guard, but it just made her calm in the face of surprise. 

“I thought he was coming back on Monday?” Carmilla asked, swinging her legs off of Laura's thighs and running a hand over her face in disappointment. 

“I did too,” Laura whispered, tugging on Carmilla's neck to come back. 

“I'm not doing anything while he's here,” Carmilla said, pulling Laura's forearms off of her shoulders and placing them in her lap. They could hear him rustling around in the foyer with rattling keys and heavy footsteps. 

“I thought you were all about teen rebellion.”

“Not when the father of my girlfriend is calling out to her,” Laura pouted, but couldn't help the way her heart jumped at the sound of Carmilla calling her her girlfriend. It had a different meaning than it did before. Now she felt happy instead of confused at the associations the word held.

“Laura? Do you remember where I put the cabin keys?” Mr. Hollis shouted as if on cue. 

“Hold on, I'll come and find them,” Laura jumped out of her seat from the couch and quickly made her way to her father, kissing him on the cheek and turning to the drawer where they kept all of the keys.

Carmilla moved down to sit with her legs outstretched on the ground, deciding it would he easier to stay in the living room and wait for Laura and Rob to come in, instead of awkwardly standing next to Laura and acting like he hadn't destroyed the perfect opportunity to do some crazy, teenager stuff. 

“Sorry, honey, but I can't stay. I have a meeting at the Ringwood station. I'll be up there til Tuesday,” Laura's dad rubbed his eyes with his index finger and thumb, pinching the bridge of his nose after a moment and sighing heavily. 

Laura found the set of keys with a dolphin key chain connected to it and handed it to him. 

“It's okay. It's only two more days, then you're stuck with me forever,” Laura dramatised. She rocked up on her toes and bear hugged Rob's waist, shifting them from side to side in a slow sway. 

“Can't wait,” he said, reciprocating her gesture. 

“I'll see you Tuesday night?” 

“Yep. That's the plan,” he playfully squeezed her too tight to breathe and kept the pressure as she shifted uncomfortably. 

“Dad, please,” She whined as he loosened his arms. 

“Okay, L-bomb. I gotta go,” he finally released her and fixed his watch, squinting at the small arrows and numbers. 

“I love you, big bear,” Laura breathed out as he opened the door and walked back to his car parked in the wide driveway. 

She was used to him having to go up to the cabin or stay away for a few days, but it still felt like she was saying goodbye for good whenever he left. 

She closed the door once his car disappeared behind big pine trees their neighbours owned and scrolled over to Carmilla on the floor in the living room. 

“What are you doing down there?” she asked humorously, putting her hands on her hips, drawing tension in her tshirt. 

“Well, it's comfy,” Carmilla patted the spot next to her with an expecting raise of her eyebrows and watched the smaller girl give up on her attempt to be mature. The rug underneath them was always going to be a nice spot to sit on, no matter how old she tried to act. 

Laura didn't sit next to her, however, choosing the spot right in front of Carmilla's crossed legs as her seat. 

“Cupcake, I hate break it to you, but I can't see the TV with your head in the way.”

Laura smirked and pushed herself forward, not too fast that she would crash into Carmilla and not too slow that it would be an awkward amount of time, just right. She was going in for the kiss she desired with all of her being, running her hand through Carmilla's hair as she finally got what she wanted. 

She was new to the art of making out, but with Carmilla it was comfortable and easy to understand when to do what. Every touch, graze and ministration was heaven with her. No detail or movement lacked what others had. She was surprisingly gentle, but didn't need much motivation or encouragement to try and see what Laura liked. 

She was holding her at the waist when Laura leaned the rest of her body onto Carmilla, sending a heavy yet somehow light feeling to the pit of her stomach. 

The sensation was lust ridden and so terribly sweet that all she wanted was more. She took Laura's bottom lip between her own and tugged on it gently, earning a soft sigh from her girlfriend. 

Laura might have thought that there was no better feeling than Carmilla's hands tugging on her waist, but that was before she slid them further down to the waistband of Laura's sweatpants and inside the elastic. 

She let her hands slowly massage Laura's butt, creating a heat she had never felt course her body before. It was overwhelming and hungry, like she needed Carmilla to keep touching her. 

“Carm… “Laura said breathily, breaking their heated kiss and inhaling all the air she could. Her hands stilled on the exposed skin of Laura's hip, looking into her eyes in search for an obscurity. 

“Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?” Carmilla asked, bringing one of her hands up to Laura's flushed cheek and the other back to her waist. 

“No! No. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm incredible, you're incredible. I just need air,” she managed to say through the hitch in her throat. The hand on her cheek and waist weren't exactly helping to calm her new found nervousness. She hadn't realised how quickly the mood changed from playful and light-hearted to hot and progressive and it intimidated her to say the least. 

“We can go slower if you want,” Carmilla suggested basically reading Laura's mind and stroking her cheek lazily. 

“Yeah, if that's okay?” 

“Of course it's okay. You're more important than sexy times,” She chuckled, bringing that playful mood back.  
“Sexy times, huh?” Laura teased, smiling widely. 

Carmilla could get used to this. Even if she had to stop herself sometimes, it was worth everything she had ever wanted and more because as long as Laura was by her side, touching her, dragging her into these ridiculous plans and adventures she would be just fine. 

‘Sexy times’ could _always_ wait.


	8. I'm normally pretty chill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura's on the soccer team and Carmilla promised she would be there to support her. 
> 
> Will is blinded by his rage and Kirsch is having the worst time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter could have been considered painful, but I really like how it turned out. School and some personal stuff has been getting in the way my time to write, but I'm determined to stick to updating once a week, so never fear friends.
> 
> Did anyone else cry like 50 times during the Danish girl? Cause I did and I have so many feelings about it.

“Cupcake, I have to go home. I would love to stay here and continue this little lip locking session, but I need to go and get ready for tomorrow,” Carmilla whined, trying to free herself from Laura's hold and failing. 

That girl had perfected the art of clinging to a T and there was no way Carmilla would be able to break the pressure she loved to hate. 

“Can't you stay the night?” she mumbled against Carmilla neck, disconnecting her lips from her pulse point to look into the brunette’s eyes. 

“All of my clothes are at _my_ house, remember?” 

“You can wear some of my stuff, I have the game tomorrow, so I'll be in uniform,” Laura piped up, trying to come up with a solution. 

She had been training every Tuesday for the first soccer match of her schooling career and she really wanted to do good. She was the right wing and it was going to be a tough game if she couldn't keep her nerves down. It wasn't the first time she participated in school sport, back in freshmen year she was a part of the cheerleaders team, but after one season she just didn't feel stimulated by it. 

She did learn how to do a flip on command, though. 

“No offence, but cardigans and coloured jeans aren't exactly my style,” Laura pouted, playing with the hem of Carmilla's shirt. 

“That doesn't mean I don't like them on you,” she said, stilling Laura's hands and fiddling with her fingers. 

“Fine, but you have to come and cheer, tomorrow. And not just that fake cheering, but the yelling at the top of your lungs kind.” 

A cheeky smile graced Laura's lips when Carmilla’s own smile faltered for a second, before she rolled her eyes and gave her a quick peck in agreement. 

 

****

 

Laura stuffed her books into her locker, paying little attention to the way some of the pages were folding back and slammed the small door shut. 

She was running literally and figuratively late to the warm ups her coach called this morning and she didn't want to make the impression that she was a slacker. 

If there was anything she wasn't, it was a slacker. She put one hundred percent of her effort into everything she did and she was going to make sure her coach knew that. 

Laura ran through the crowded hallways, bouncing off of walls and people, calling out apologies behind her as her feet navigated the path to the soccer field. 

There were students starting to gather around the fences and stands, waiting for their friends and the game to begin. It wasn't as crowded as the hallways, making it easier for her to slip in between people to get closer to the fenced off field. 

She could see her team on the far right side from where she was standing, juggling in a large circle, using heads, knees, feet and chests to keep the ball from touching the ground. That was a sign that they just started, meaning she wasn't in too much trouble yet. 

She jumped over the short fence, hearing one of the supervising teachers tell her off for such disorderly behaviour. She shrugged it off without turning around and sprinted to the coach to get her attendance marked off. 

“Hey, Hollis. Looks like you've already warmed up,” she said enthusiastically, looking over Laura's out of breath figure and patting her on the back as she walked away to the talk to the ref. 

Laura took a moment to catch her breath before throwing her bag down and grabbing her socks and boots out. She noticed Mel walking towards her while she squeezed her feet into her new boots and laced them up. 

“Well, look who decided to finally show up,” she said slowly, an extra bite in the comment to get underneath Laura's skin. 

“Just when I thought this day couldn't get any worse,” She grumbled incoherently, confusing her team mate in the most bitter kind of way. 

“What did you say?” 

“These laces are the worst,” Laura covered quickly, pretending to struggle with her boots and keeping her eyes on them. 

“It's not that hard to put boots on, dweeb.”

Laura didn't say anything back. There was nothing she could say that wouldn't end in a fist fight. She was used to backing down, mostly because she didn't actually care about anything Mel said, but also because she was the captain of the team and could get Laura kicked off the squad. 

It may have been unfair, but that's how these captain gigs go when people like Mel get involved. 

The taller girl strutted off, towards the swarm of distracted soccer players and forced everyone to keep practising. 

Respectively, she could destroy Mel in a fight, but she saw no need to use any physical attack on her. She just wasn't worth it. 

Laura got to her feet, feeling slightly nervous and a lot more buzzed than before. She looked out to the crowd surrounding them, surprised at how many people had already shown up in the past few minutes.

Girl's soccer wasn't exactly the most popular sport at Silas, athletics took the first spot on that list with boy's basketball and girl's volleyball coming in second and third. 

She, searched the small figures and faces for Carmilla, coming up empty after a moment and looking back to her practising team. All she could see was a bunch of kids with face paint on and flags that read GOAL! on them. 

She was sure Carmilla would show up, eventually. She just expected her to be more… punctual now that they weren't pretending any more. 

Maybe she had gotten caught up with some school work from a teacher or she lost her bag and was searching for it. She could have been trying to figure out how much money her teeth were worth in Math for all Laura knew. 

Too be honest it wouldn't surprise laura that's what it really was. Math tests are so much stranger than people judged. 

There were more important things Carmilla could do instead of attend a stupid soccer match, but she didn't think it would affect her that much to know Carmilla didn't put her first. 

She sighed and jumped in line for one of the dribbling exercises, waiting for the ball to come her way and weaving it between her legs and infront of her body. She didn't have a lot of experience with soccer, but she liked to think of herself as a natural. She was easily better than at least half of the team and most importantly she had the most fun while doing so. 

“You nervous?” Natalie asked as Laura took a spot behind her, letting her own anxiety be clear to any outsider. 

“A little, mostly to do with the amount of people out here. I mean, normally I'm pretty chill in these situations, but that's when there's a grand total of five people watching,” Laura rubbed her sweaty hands on the black shorts she was wearing, realising how nervous she was. 

“I know, right! It's so weird!”

Natalie bent down to stretch out her hamstrings as Laura pulled her leg up and behind her to loosen the tension in her quad. 

“Okay, everyone. Last one over here does ten push ups!” the coach shouted from the sidelines, watching the stampede of girls barrel over to her. 

“Wow, no one likes push ups that much,” she mumbled to herself before any of them had arrived. 

Laura made her way to the back of the huddle, squeezing in between Sarah and Amy, failing to notice Mel staring daggers at her from the other side. 

“Hey, I didn't know you were on the team,” Laura whispered to Sarah, remembering how upset Carmilla had been when she ‘cheated’ with her. 

“Yeah, I got moved up to Firsts this year,” Sarah stated quietly, avoiding eye contact. 

She must remember that day as well, then. 

“That's awesome,” Laura said a little too loudly, catching the attention of the coach and captain. 

“Hollis, talk to me after the game,” Coach ordered calmly, side eyeing the smug expression on Mel’s face. 

Laura looked down at her feet in embarrassment. She hated getting in trouble from staff members she liked. It always felt like she got betrayed somehow, even though she knew they were just doing their job. 

The group split up after she finished her pump up speech and took their respective positions on the field. The other team joined them and before Laura knew it, she was chasing the ball as fast as she could down the line towards the goals. 

She got control of the ball and swerved to dodge a defending play, finding an open shot at the top left corner of the goals. Without too much hesitation she stabbed the ball at her target area, taking note of how fast the goaly was moving towards the ball. 

She held her breath, watching it fly through the air and sink into the net before any obstructions from the opposing team could interfere. 

She got it. 

She just got a goal. 

It wasn't even half time yet. 

Sarah was running towards her from the opposite wing and she could see Natalie cheering on the other side of the field as the crowd erupted in celebration, while she stood there, shocked at her own success. 

Sarah was the first to jump/bear hug her, lifting her up and swinging her around. It seemed that the awkward tension between the two had subsided for a moment and Laura squealed as she was smothered by more of the team. 

“Nice shot Hollis. Keep that up and you'll be our secret weapon,” Sarah said proudly, putting the smaller girl down and jogging backwards to her rightful starting point. 

Laura blushed at the thought of being a benefit to the team. It made her feel useful and fuelled her enthusiasm to be more confident in herself. She just wished Carmilla was here to see that display of pure kickass. 

The rest of the game was pretty much keepings off, with a few more attempts of goals from both teams, but no such luck presented itself to anyone other than the tiny gay. 

The game ended as the sun began to cast a yellow glow over the field, illuminating it's warm textures and serenity rarely seen or admired by its dwellers. 

“You guys did well for our first match of the season. It's good to see you supporting and backing up each other out there. I think it's going to be a smooth season if we continue that kind of commitment and good judgement,” Coach announced while all of the girls were taking boots off and cleaning themselves up. 

“Training is being moved to Thursday afternoons, so keep them clear and I'll see you all on Thursday.”

Sarah waved Laura a goodbye and thumbs up as she left the outdoor stadium, joining all of her friends while Laura stayed back to talk to the coach. 

She was zipping up her almost full backpack and contemplating whether she should just take off before she was called over when she felt two hands on her shoulders. They swivelled her around and before she could say hello, her lips were encased in a tender kiss. 

She knew it was Carmilla, remembering the shape and feeling of her lips against her own, kissing her back once, then smiling too widely to do anything properly. 

“Cupcake,” Carmilla whined, pulling back and opening her eyes. They both smiled at each other for very different reasons. Laura hadn't noticed before,but Carmilla was wearing the soccer team's colours on her face in thick streaks of paint. Light blue, black and white smudges on both cheeks. 

“Your goal was very nice,” Carmilla giggled, knowing Laura was surprised to see so much paint on one face. She had taken it upon herself to go all out and to do that she had to find Kirsch and ask for a favour, hence the paint. 

“It was kind of lucky, but thanks,” Laura shrugged the compliment off and played with the hem of her own jersey. 

“No way. It was pure talent and skill from my incredibly talented and skilled girlfriend,” Carmilla grinned rocking on her feet from side to side. 

She didn't know why she was acting like a whipped fool, but it felt good. She would never openly admit that, but it's the thought that counts, right? 

“You're just gloating that you date an athlete.”

“I'm just gloating that I get to date you, in those shorts. With that cute, determined look on your face,” Laura blushed, before lightly punching Carmilla's arm. 

“Hollis, can I have a word?” coach interrupted, killing the flirtatious mood between the girls and awkwardly ushering her a few feet away from Carmilla. 

She turned her back to the whipped teen and hushed her tone to try and not embarrass Laura as much. She knew she was a little sensitive about getting in trouble, but honestly she didn't feel that it was even necessary to punish her. 

All she did was loudly support someone instead of listen to the speech (which was a load of bullshit) so it really didn't make much sense to give her detention, and yet, here they were. 

“Hollis, I'm going to be honest with you, here. I like you. You're a good student and obviously a good player, but the rules are simple. I talk, you listen. You talk instead and I have to hand out these way too colourful pieces of paper that hurt my eyes,” she said with the slip in her hand, cringing at the neon shade of orange.

Laura stayed quiet, watching her coach intently to make sure nothing else happened. She glanced over her shoulder to see Carmilla waiting with her bag by the wired fence. 

The way the sun's glow was bouncing off of her skin and leaving a long shadow on the ground made Laura's heart climb into her throat. 

“So, I'll see you after training, on Thursday. Have a good night, you deserve it after that goal,” coach finished, handing Laura the slip and flashing a genuine smile. 

She walked away, leaving Laura standing in the same spot, slip in hand and eyes focused on Carmilla leaning against a metal post. 

She had her eyes closed and head tilting back to expose her neck. It looked like was trying get more sun to heat her skin, casually managing to look like a model from some kind of fashion blog. 

Laura strolled over to her quietly, carefully folding the orange piece of paper into her short pocket making no noise and smiling at her tiny success. 

Carmilla moved her head back down, seemingly finishing her stretch and sighing as she opened her eyes to be met with the sight of Laura smiling back at her. 

“I'm a bad influence on you, cutie.”

“You never get in trouble.”

“That's because I don't get caught,” she winked. Laura's cheeks turned a light shade of pink, giving her all the more reason to continue. 

“You never even do anything. When was the last time you broke a school rule? Freshmen year?” 

Laura put her hands on her hips in disagreement. She knew Carmilla wasn't as dangerous and mysterious as she liked to tell the world. She acted and dressed like the stereotypical bad ass, but if anything she was more well-behaved than Laura. 

“I'll have you know that I broke at least four rules just trying to get to your game, _Hollis_ ,” Carmilla mocked. 

“Name them, _Karnstein_.”

“Ditching class early to find Kirsch, breaking into Kirsch’s class, stealing the teacher's food for Kirsch in exchange for the paint, going through the storage rooms in the gym to try and find this,” she listed lazily, pinching some of the fabric of the soccer jersey she was wearing that was identical to Laura's. 

“Seriously? You did all that to get a jersey and face paint? For my game?” Laura asked, smiling widely with shock in her eyes and admiration in her gaze. 

“Yeah, it was worth it,” Carmilla reached out and pulled Laura's hands between them, using them to bring her close enough to kiss. 

Laura leaned in quickly, connecting their lips in appreciation. Carmilla would go through all of that trouble, dress up like a teen with school spirit and shrug it off like it was the most obvious thing for her to do. 

When Laura said she wanted Carmilla to be her personal cheerleader, she didn't think she would actually dress up for it. 

She smiled into the passionate kiss, completely ruining the friction of their lips and leaned back to put some distance between them. 

“You're Ridiculous,” she teased lovingly, only a few inches separated their lips from engaging once more. 

“Yeah, yeah. I know,” Carmilla pouted from the loss of contact and stood up straighter. She stepped out from her leaning position between Laura and the fence and walked ahead of the honey blonde before raising her voice. 

“Come on, I'll walk you home,” 

Laura quickly followed, syncing her steps to Carmilla's as they left the school grounds hand in hand, the sun going down and the world around them settling for the night. 

 

****

 

“So, what do you think I should do, bro?” 

“I think you should calm down, Laura isn't that deceiving. She would never do something like that. I've known her for years and she has literally never done anything to hurt anyone,” Kirsch defended Laura. He knew she wasn't just fucking around with Carmilla, but it was taking a lot more persuading for Will to understand that. 

“That doesn't mean she can't start now,” Will said, matter of factly like he had guessed who the killer was in a game of cluedo. 

“Look if you're not going to believe that Laura is being genuine, I don't want to talk about it with you. Why would you even ask me for advice? You know she's my friend,” Kirsch was starting to get annoyed that Will kept pushing and theorising about every little detail. 

“You're going to choose little Laura over your best friend?” Will asked, slightly hurt at the possibility. 

“When he's acting like a controlling idiot for no reason? Yes!” Kirsch snapped. 

He ran a hand through his short hair and back down over his face, breathing in deeply with some regret for being so harsh. 

Will needed to see Laura and Carmilla for what they were. Two girls who somehow managed to find each other and grow to love each other, just because it happened so quickly doesn't mean it's invalid or a hoax. 

“Whatever, man. I'm just looking out for my sister,” Will spat out. 

“Have you even bothered to ask her about any of this?” 

“No way, she would kill me,” 

“Then how can you be so sure? I thought you cared about her the most, but I'm starting to feel like something is off with you,” Kirsch said, kicking some of the crushed rock from under his feet. He wanted to tell Will to stop being such a dick, but he also didn't want to hurt his feelings. 

“Fine! Next time I see her, I'll ask. Just know that if she kills me, it's on you,” Will jumped up from the bench they were sitting on and stormed over to his car, getting in and driving away without another word. 

Kirsch threw his head down into his hands, regretting being so assertive. He didn't want Will to think he didn't care for him or his sister by defending Laura, he just wanted to be a voice of reason and possibly talk him out of being so obsessed with this crazy theory. 

He shot up out of his spot and suppressed the want to punch the nearest tree. It would hurt him more anyway, so why would he bother. 

“Ugh, I hate high school,” he mumbled, walking along the path to his own pickup truck. 

He drove out of the school gates, playing “Sober” by Childish gambino obnoxiously loud and singing along to each and every lyric. 

It calmed him down immediately and destroyed any feeling of guilt he had felt before. Will had to stop being an asshole if he was going to continue to hang out with him. He had to be a good person and let his sister figure everything out by herself, instead of trying so hard to wreck their relationship. 

 

He was wrecking all of his own relationships and wasn't even noticing how the people around him were feeling. It was like he made a dream world where his goal was to sabotage Carmilla's love life and act like Laura was a soul sucking demon sent to hurt his sister. 

It's one thing to be protective of someone, but it's a completely different thing to be possessive of them and Kirsch had come to the conclusion that Will was in fact possessive over his sister, but really, it didn't make sense for him to be so set on the idea that Laura was betraying her somehow. 

Kirsch pulled up into his driveway and cut the engine, resting his head against the Back of his seat and closing his eyes. 

At the end of the day, whatever happens, happens. He was just hoping it wouldn't be terrible.


	9. Quilting, 54 tons later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla is a cute girlfriend, Will is being a total creep and Laura is just trying to get some beauty sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its a day late, but never the less, it's here. Chapter 9 for all your sorry souls. 
> 
> I've been working on some art stuff and school stuff this week, hence the slightly late update. Also some pretty great music was released in the passed few days, so that's also been consuming my time. 
> 
> Also Nat for kindatv host and haunted or hoax bhs; I've never been happier. 
> 
> I was basically cringing with every sentence I wrote, so I hope you have fun.

“Carmilla!” Will shouted as soon as he closed the door behind himself. 

“Carmilla! I want to talk to you!” 

“William! Stop yelling, you're being disorderly and rude. Learn to announce yourself with respect and grace,” Lilita pestered, shooing him out of the foyer and towards the stairs. 

She was working on some figures with Mattie before he came in and broke their focus. Why he had to be so loud, she would never understand. 

“Sorry, mother. Do you know if Carmilla is home?” 

“She told me she was taking Laura home. She'll be back in an hour or two.”

Will turned around and scowled. Of course she was with the dwarf. Where else would she possibly be? 

“Thank you. I'll be in my room if you need me.”

He skipped up the stairs taking three at a time and pushed the thought of Carmilla out of his mind. He needed to concentrate on something else for the time spent waiting for her to get home. 

He could finished his physics project and have one thing less to worry about. 

 

****

 

Carmilla carefully shut the front door, trying to wipe the giddy smile off of her face that she wasn't able to shake off the whole bus ride home. 

Laura had been so shocked to know the effort Carmilla put in to make her first game special, that she was completely thrown off by her second surprise.  
She didn't tell Laura that she had arranged for the scooby gang to hide in and around her house, all wearing the team's uniform and different designs of the face paint. 

Lafontaine had completely coloured in one side of their face in black, with a bear claw shape cross their face, starting off as white then fading into blue. 

Perry had attempted Lexa’s eye makeup as well as blue lips which almost shocked Laura more than them being inside her house to begin with. Perry was never one to get messy with possibly staining substances. 

Even Danny was there with a big L on her cheek and her puppy J.P by her side. Laura's heart melted when it ran up to her clumsily and stared up at her with incredibly dark eyes. 

She was sure it was a huski; her favourite breed of fluff balls. It would have only been a couple months old considering how small and young it looked. 

They all hung out for a while, petting the dog and having a mini dance party like they normally did at sleepovers. Laura spent the entire time smiling and laughing at things that weren't even close to funny. She was just so happy that they were all there having a good time. 

Carmilla was even joining in to the terrible jokes they told each other, not caring about how dumb she sounded. All she cared about was her friends and the puppy. 

 

“Carmilla, is that you?” she heard Lilita from the dining room. 

“Yeah, it's me.”

She took off her shoes and headed to her mother's voice, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek and a warm smile. 

“I made spaghetti for dinner, there's still some in the pot if you want it.”

She went back to concentrating on the documents in front of her, muttering under her breathe as Carmilla went to get a bowl from the cupboard and loaded it up with some of the tomato bathed pasta. 

“Carmilla, hey. I need to talk to you.” 

Will appeared in the doorway, seemingly blocking the exit. Carmilla turned around and as soon as she did, he let out a confused laugh as to why her face was smudged in their school's colours. 

“You've got a little something, uh,” he gestured at his whole face, laughing more when she flipped him off. 

He heard her come in a few minutes before he bolted down the stairs to find her retreating to the kitchen. He wasn't expecting her to have joined the circus without any warnings or signs. 

“What about, bromeo?” she mocked, making her way over to the small table in the corner of the room and sitting down on one of the old wooden chairs that didn't match anything in the house. 

The set had been bought at a garage sale when Will and Carmilla moved into their first home. It was the only table in the whole house that wasn't stacked with arts and craft equipment or paper work for Lilita to file through back when they were little. 

“How’s Laura? I heard she scored the only goal today.she must be proud.“ 

He took a seat across from her resting his hands in his lap freely. 

Carmilla smiled, quickly covering it up with a mouthful of food, “Yeah, she was incredible. I didn't even know she was that good,” she said through the mouthful, chewing at the same time. 

“Cool. She's become quite the athlete, then? Must have a little fan club by now.” 

“Yeah, probably.” Carmilla said through gritted teeth. She knew exactly what he was trying to do and she really didn't want to have to restrain him. It was too late and all she wanted to do was eat, maybe text Laura and go to sleep. She couldn't be bothered bickering with him after the perfect day she had had. 

She stood up slowly, picked up her bowl and headed away towards the door. 

“Where are you going?”

“My room,” she replied without turning around. 

“I needed to ask you something,” Will jumped out of his chair abruptly and blocked the exit effectively trapping her in the kitchen. 

“Okay,” Carmilla gave up on trying to avoid this situation and took her seat once more. 

“Spill your guts out, Willy boy.”

He mirrored her action and rubbed his hands on his thighs, riding them of their clammy state. 

“Are you and Laura seriously dating?” he blurted out, skipping straight to the point without giving her any time to prepare. 

“Yes,” she spoke confidently, maintaining a disaffected stare. 

“Are you sure? Have you even done anything with her?”

“Um, why the hell do you think you have the right to ask me that?” Carmilla squinted, making sure he was for real and not just pulling some kind of weird prank. 

“Don't get upset, Kitty. It was just a question.” 

He held up his arms in fake surrender, debating his next invasive query. 

“A question you don't get to ask.” 

She stood, putting her bowl in the sink and calmly walking away before he could stop her again. He couldn't actually think that any of that little interrogation would work, could he? 

Was he really that thick? 

“Have a nice night, Kitty Kat.” He shouted out, once she had reached the stairs. 

 

 

****

 

Carmilla bolted down the stairs, bypassing her breakfast and lunch. She was going to have to buy something on the way to school. 

She sent a quick text to Laura, asking to come over. She knew she wouldn't be awake to see it, but it's the thought that counts, right? 

After last night's conversation (Can she even call it that? Because it felt more like an attack to her) she had thought long and hard about what Will had said. She knew he was trying to get under her skin and emotionally manipulate her into some kind of confession, which she wasn't fooled into because A. She didn't need to confess anything and B. She was comfortable with where her and Laura were. 

He might have thought she was acting insecure or uncertain about Laura, but she had a basic understanding of confrontational circumstances, how to avoid them and how to make them worse. 

As she jogged out the door and to the car she knew what she was about do would definitely make it worse.  
She started the engine and rubbed her hands together, creating some friction and warmth in the chilly air she had replaced her brother with. 

She spent a lot of time last night trying to work out how to teach Will a lesson and what better way to do that than leave him stranded at their house, forced to find another way of getting to school without her or the car? 

It was only five in the morning. Will would wake up at around seven, finding no Carmilla, no car and no easy way out. 

Kirsch had training this morning and she made sure it was still going ahead because she didn't want him to just call up one of his Bros to give him a lift. That would be too easy. 

He would either have to catch the bus (which he hadn't done since the start of freshmen year) or walk (three hours and twenty two minutes.)

The best part was that she wasn't going to waste a whole three hours before school. She was going to sleep at Laura's house for that time and have a great morning in the arms of her girlfriend with the thought of Will getting what he deserved for once. Laura lived a lot closer to the school, so they wouldn't have to leave as early either. 

What a great way to start the day. 

She blasted Pvris’ ‘You and I’, followed by ‘Somebody else’, ‘Loving Someone’and ‘She's American’ from the 1975 and sung along to them as she navigated the dully lit Streets by the rising sun. 

Those songs had the power to melt her heart and to say she was entranced by them would be accurate. 

_“Fuck that, get money…”_ she quietly sang, getting out of the small tin box on wheels and almost skipping up to Laura's front porch. The probably sound asleep girl wasn't going to answer the door if Carmilla knock, so she just pulled out the spare key from the doorbell cover and let herself in. 

“Cupcake?” she locked the door behind herself and made a track up the stairs towards the brightly coloured door of Laura's bedroom. 

“Hey, Laura.” 

The smaller girl softly stirred in her deep slumber, pushing her face further into the yellow pillow her hands were gripping at. She was laying on her stomach with bunched up hands and honey blonde hair everywhere. 

It was hard for Carmilla to tell at first because of the barely lit room, but Laura was wearing her light blue duck shirt. It confused her at first. She never gave Laura that top, even though she had asked for it at least fifty times in the past few months. 

Carmilla shrugged it off and climbed into the bed, taking off her boots first and snuggling up against Laura's side. She shifted this time, letting out a breathy sigh and turning over to subconsciously face the technically trespasser. 

“Why are you here?” Laura sleepily asked, keeping her eyes closed. 

“To sleep.”

“Not that I want you to leave, but why?”

“I'll explain later, go back to sleep,” Carmilla kissed her forehead and snuggled closer, draping her arm across Laura's side and closing her own eyes to let sleep overcome her. 

 

****

 

Will woke up as his phone blared to life, playing one of the annoying top 40 songs he secretly loved. He let the song play through, groggily humming along to its repetitive tune. 

He sat up and stretched his back out, pulling his arms above his head and pushing his chest out, noticing a small twing in his stomach. 

That's odd. He hasn't woken up with morning sickness in years now. 

Before he could question why his throat closed up and his chest contracted. He knew exactly what was about to happen. He jumped out of bed frantically and stumbled to the bathroom, making it just in time to not make a mess of himself and his environment. 

With his head in the toilet and hands clasping the bowl Lilita paced in, rubbing his back to try and calm his cowering form. 

She had heard the sound of heaving from her bedroom next to the second floor bathroom and her motherly instincts kicked in. 

“That's it, it's okay.”

“You don't have to go to school like this, it's okay,” she repeated as his body started to ease its tension. 

“Thank God!” he mumbled, wiping his mouth with a piece of toilet paper and standing up with staggering knees and an extra wobble. 

He felt like he had just regurgitated an entire villages supply of food. 

“Try to get some sleep and make sure to drink a lot of fluids,” Lilita walked out of the bathroom, leaving him to clean himself up and settle his stomach. 

“I'm leaving in a few minutes. Make sure to tell your sister you won't be at school,”

“Have a good day,” he mumbled back, knocking on Carmilla's door. He received no answer, knocking again before opening the door to find a very empty bedroom. 

“Well…” He frowned, heading back to his room and flopping back onto his mattress, not caring where she was. 

If she was in trouble or needed him, then surely she would text. That's what phones were for, to stay in contact even if you're places apart. 

 

 

****

 

“I can't breathe,” Laura whined playfully as Carmilla's grip around her waist tightened, pushing more air from her body. 

“Say it.”

“I'm not saying it, let go!” Laura started to giggle uncontrollably against Carmilla's chest, trying to wiggle out of the stiff grasp around her waist by extended her arms to push Carmilla's shoulders back. 

“You know you want to say it.”

“I would rather suffocate.”

Carmilla took that as her cue to test how much longer Laura could resist. If history had any influence on how this would go, she was sure the smaller girl would give up in roughly thirtytwo seconds with little doubt. 

“Say it.” she tackled Laura into the bed, messing up the covers and tangling them in the pillows and blankets that had yet to be organised. 

She rocked them around quickly, flipping them from side to side and back to back with a little caution and a lot of pace. 

“I'll say it. I'll say it!” Laura squealed, squeezing Carmilla's shoulders and bunching up some of the fabric of her t-shirt. 

She loosened her grip as Carmilla's arms relaxed around her, bracing herself for the gloating that was about to occur. 

“You are my favourite punk kid. You could pull off a Mohawk if you wanted to. I would still love you just as much,” She sighed, disappointed that she gave in so fast. 

“Awww, you always know how to steal my heart,” Carmilla teased earning a long coming glare. 

“You're lucking you're cute, cause you're playing fucking dirty,” Laura mumbled. 

Carmilla was still not used to Laura’s cursing. It's not like this was the first time she had experienced the grace of Laura's tongue muttering unholy things, during exam times especially, but she never incorporated that into her playfulness until now and to Carmilla was affected by it would be an understatement. 

The blush that appeared on her cheeks was entirely embarrassing, yet so obviously worth it. 

“What could you possibly do to change that?” Carmilla smirked cheekily. 

Laura stared at her for a moment, gathering her best ideas for remedying this kind of problem. 

“hmmmmm.” She brought her hand up to her chin, posing as if she were thinking deeply. 

“Spill it, Cupcake.”

Without another word or beat missed Laura pushed herself forward, threading her fingers through Carmilla's tangled hair and trapping her lips with her own. 

She licked Carmilla's bottom lip, before taking it between her teeth and tugging lightly. Carmilla moaned hungry for more, as Laura started grinding into her slowly. She was about to do the same when Laura pulled back to her original position and acted like nothing had happened. 

Carmilla's slightly swollen lips, dry throat and over all anticipation spoke other volumes. 

“I should probably go and get ready, huh?” Laura got out of the bed, stretching as she walked away from a dumbfounded Carmilla watching every step the smaller girl took until she was completely out of the room. 

“Wait, come back,” Carmilla whispered to herself, grabbing a pillow and smothering her face in it. 

She laid on her side for a few more minutes, gathering herself and calming the unholy force in her loins that wanted to knock down the bathroom door where Laura was showering and… do things that were completely and utterly inappropriate. 

Terribly inappropriate. 

Not even Satan would approve. 

“Yikes.” She pulled the pillow from her face and glared at the door where she had last seen the tiny gay. 

This was her punishment for playing dirty. Sexual frustration with a side of bad intentions and a whole lot of lust. 

Carmilla was pulled from her staring contest with a doorknob by Laura entering the room, wearing only a pair of blue, high waisted jeans and a black laced bra. 

It was like she was trying to kill the broody teenager, or better yet, seduce her. Which she wouldn't be opposed to. 

“Forgot my top,” She smiled sweetly, finding a striped navy blue and white T-shirt and throwing it over her body. On any other day Carmilla would have been sad to see the toned abs Laura had disappear underneath fabric, but today it felt like someone was looking out for her. 

“Are you wearing that?” Laura asked her, gesturing lazily to her figure. Carmilla was wearing all cotton, which could be perceived as standard teenage attire, but Laura knew better. 

“No, I have some jeans and a jacket.” her voice cracked halfway through, prompting her to get off the bed and jog down the stairs to her bag. 

She grabbed what she needed and threw it over her shoulder, lunging up the stairs and heading straight to the bathroom. 

She couldn't risk going back into _that_ room with _that_ girl. She would be driven to insanity, so for now her safest option was anywhere Laura wasn't, which was ridiculous. She was in her house. 

She got changed, looking herself over in the mirror for the first time since she came in. Her hair was in it usual state between neat and wild, her cheeks were ever so slightly tinted with pink and her lips could have been swollen, but not enough to be noticeable. 

“You're so gay, oh my God,” she whispered to her reflection, shaking her head and exiting the small room without giving herself another glance. 

It's was like all of the frustration was causing her to lose all sense of her collection and calmness. She knew Laura was doing it as payback, but seriously, she's gotta let her breathe. 

Laura walked out of her room, school bag in hand and a pair of sunglasses on the top of her head. She almost didn't see Carmilla coming out of the bathroom until she tried to go back in there and fumbled with the door. 

“Are you okay?” Laura chuckled at the sight, pretending like she didn't know exactly why Carmilla had tried to hide. 

“Yeah, I just forgot my sweats,” she lied, not even bothering to shield them from view in her hands as her eyes grew wide and the door creaked completely open. 

“I'll be downstairs in the kitchen once you're done.” 

Laura couldn't help the giggle that escaped her throat as she turned around and hopped down the stairs. She probably shouldn't have been proud of herself for having that kind of effect on Carmilla, but it was so funny to watch her squirm and blush. 

She put some bread in the toaster and got a bunch of snacks for her brooding lover to choose from once she was finished pretending to be busy. 

“So, Cupcake. How did you do it? How did you manage to get my duck shirt?” Carmilla asked from the bottom of the staircase, looking a lot more put together than before. 

“Well, I slipped it into your overnight bag and then I took it out when we got here, pretty great plan if you ask me,” she smiled widely at how sneaky it was and Carmilla's reaction. 

“Not bad.”

“As my girlfriend, you should expect this to happen all the time,” Laura said as Carmilla came closer, her voice dying in her throat as she backed her up against the edge of the counter. Their body's were as close as they could be without touching as Laura moved her hands to be sandwiched between her lower back and the counter. 

“Really? Doesn't that mean I should get something from you?” Carmilla tilted her head, exposing her neck as her hair fell to one side. 

“You ah, already made it clear that you didn't want any of my clothes.”

Laura met Carmilla's stare, waiting for any kind of reaction that she could possible use to formulate a thought or sentence that wasnt a sequence of ummms and ahhhhs. 

“Maybe I want something else,” Carmilla said seductively, looking down at the little space between their bodies. 

_ding ding_ the toaster sounded, making Laura jump at the sudden noise and straight into Carmilla. 

Carmilla pulled back, holding onto Laura's waist to steady the surprised girl. She glared at the perfectly cooked bread, cursing whatever higher force was controlling the timing of that annoying contraption. 

Laura was more concerned with plating the toast and buttering it's soulless surface. She was out of Carmilla's spell, thankfully. She was supposed to be the one teasing and seducing her, not the other way around. This was supposed to be some kind of payback instead of a brand new game. 

That's not how this was _supposed_ to go. 

“Do you want strawberry or peach jam?” Laura asked, trying to break the new found awkward tension in the room, but just making it worse. 

“peach.” 

“So, what do you have today?” Laura asked as one desperate try to dissolve whatever it was that had made itself welcome in her home. She handed Carmilla her slice and started her own. 

“Art, finance, English lit, history and English. You?” she spoke over a mouth full of toast, trying to keep it all in her mouth with each word. 

“Legal, English, finance, textiles and PE. You know, we used to have so many classes together last year. We only have math this year.”

“If anything that's probably for the best,” Carmilla said after a moment. Laura gave her a look that meant she didn't understand how and she was slightly hurt by the statement. 

“Calm down. I just mean I wouldn't be able to focus if you were in my classes,” Carmilla shifted at her spot against the counter, balancing most of her weight on one leg with the other bent. 

“That's ridiculous. You did fine last year,” Laura was still a little offended even if that was meant to be flirtatious. 

“I did fine last year because you weren't as distracting. Imagine trying to learn about the history of quilting when you could be staring at my jawline the whole lesson. You wouldn't know that the biggest quilt ever made weighs like, 54 tons,” Laura was more than embarrassed by how true that was. 

“Are you okay?” she questioned, realising that Carmilla just used _quilting_ as an example with a weirdly specific fact. 

“Yeah, I just can't believe it's that big.”

Carmilla shook her head, pulling out her phone and tapping the screen a few times. 

“Look.”

She held the phone up for Laura to see a picture of said massive quilt with a bunch of people scattered around its edges in no real order. 

“That is big,” Laura said, nodding her head in agreement as Carmilla pulled her phone back to take one final glance at the screen before putting it away. 

“So, why did you come to my house so early in the morning?” 

“I'm getting Will back for some annoying stuff he's been doing lately,” Carmilla said. She didn't want to worry Laura about Will's constant need to try and derail their relationship. 

She was sure he would stop eventually, but in the mean time she needed to teach him about messing around in things he shouldn't be and the punishments that come along with doing so.


	10. Dindins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with the one and only Papa Hollis.  
> And there are chants so that's fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is 2 months late. Have I ever been more guilty? Probably not. 
> 
> Do I have excuses? Yes  
> This thing that everyone calls writers block got me funked up. And I've kind of been working on other fics.  
> I've also just had a weird time trying to get settled back into school and exams are coming soon so pls wish my sorry butt luck.
> 
> But anyway I hope you enjoy my trash and express that through the comments or hit me up on instagram 
> 
> @Frightened_tragedy

**William:** Are you at school? 

**Kitty:** Yes

**William:** Okay, I'm at home

**William:** I puked as soon as I woke up, so mom gave me the day off, Sucker :-) 

Carmilla cursed as she read the last text at her locker. Her whole plan of payback had been ruined by some stomach bug. He probably wasn't even in that much pain, knowing her luck. 

She was already in enough of a _situation_ with Laura getting hot and sweaty on her before pulling away and acting innocent, that she saw no other option competing with what she was about to do. 

She quickly packed the rest of her books into her bag and made for the exit. Laura would be around this God forsaken institute somewhere, it was just a matter of time before Carmilla locked onto the sight of her. 

She was strolling towards her with one of the gingers by her side, talking animatedly, using her hands at every word. Laura saw her over all of the wild, flying hands and her expression changed. 

It became more confident in a way. Like she had the exact same idea as Carmilla did. 

Without another thought Laura excused herself from the conversation and motioned towards the bathroom, giving a visual representation of where she was going and subtly showing Carmilla the way. 

It wasn't hard for her to keep up with the other girl, considering it was lunch and most of the student body had already settled into their spots to eat. 

Laura pushed the bathroom door open. Thankfully no one was occupying the area as Carmilla came in, walking straight towards Laura with a suggestive smile. 

They stared at each other for a moment with barely a few inches between their bodies and two ideas that aligned quite nicely. 

Laura stepped forward, pushing their lips together as she held on to Carmilla neck and shoulder, standing slightly on her tippy toes to be eye to eye. She wasn't going to play it rough and dirty just yet, she liked these soft and tender moments they got to share with each other. 

She let their tongues dance with each other as lips and emotions entwined them in a silent agreement to do this more often. 

It wasn't the first time they had made out, obviously, but every time it was different and proved to Carmilla that it was in fact, real.

It was possible for her to get so caught up in the moment that she never really took a step back and understood all of the feelings and events that lead up to it. She would never get tired of calling Laura her girlfriend, she had dreamed about it subconsciously for years and it finally happened. 

Laura stroked Carmilla's lips with her tongue, earning a soft sigh of appreciation. Carmilla took a small step forward, pushing their bodies flush against each other and rested her arms around Laura's waist. 

Initially Carmilla wanted this to be fast and simple when she got the urge to find Laura, but after seeing her and touching her everything slipped away and it was just them. Like she had tunnel vision and at the end of the tunnel was only Laura. 

She slipped her hands cautiously underneath Laura's top, running her hands along the smooth skin on her back and along her waist. 

Laura's top bunched up at Carmilla's wrists, exposing it to the blue tiled wall that had managed to come closer to her. Or was that the other way around?   
She didn't really care. 

“-So, I was holding half of the sheet and my other hand had the torch-” 

Carmilla quickly pulled her hands back and stuffed them in her pockets, jumping away from Laura as soon as she heard the enthusiastic voice seemingly about to open the door. 

She missed the connection and warmth Laura brought to her skin instantly, wishing that whoever decided to interrupt their synchronised heartbeats would kindly find their way back to hell. 

“Oh, hey guys. How's it going?” Danny greeted as she opened the door with an equally as athletic looking girl by her side. 

Carmilla and Laura shared a look, one that gave Laura all she needed to figure out that Carmilla saw the hard irony of their current situation. 

“Good, we were just leaving,” Laura supplied, shuffling over to the mirror on the wall and fixing up her hair to make it more believable. 

“Beanstalk.” 

Carmilla nodded her head at both Danny and the other girl as she exited the bathroom, waiting for Laura on the other side. She smiled and waved with an awkward goodbye, following Carmilla's path. 

“Yeah. So the torch catches fire and-” Danny's voice faded as they walked down the hall, Carmilla finding Laura's hand and Lacing their fingers together. 

“Why does that giant always get in the way?” Carmilla asked frustratedly, rolling her eyes as she thought back to the day of Danny's trial. (Technically it was Carmilla's fault, but she would never admit that).

“Don't be dramatic. You can come over tonight. My dad will be home, so you can get that dinner with him over and done with and then we can continue from where we left off,” Laura said hopefully. It hit Carmilla that maybe Laura was nervous for the dinner too. 

“Yeah, we should just do it, get it out of the way,” she agreed, more for Laura's sake than her own and it wasn't like she was completely losing. They would still get some alone time before the dinner. 

Laura smiled and kissed her on the cheek, reinforcing the ideas Carmilla was trying desperately to stop thinking about. 

“I'm not staying over though. There's no way mom would let me,” she swayed their hands between their bodies, extending each swing to go higher and higher.   
“That's okay, we'll have plenty of alone time before he gets home,” Laura flirted shyly, looking at the ground like it had hypnotised her. 

“You're really pretty,” Carmilla blurted out dumbly. 

Laura smiled slowly again, somewhat comically. 

“You flatter me.”

“No, like super pretty. Beautiful,” Carmilla grinned, happy that she had the courage to say what she had wanted to since forever. 

Laura looked back to her surprised to see no sign of mock present in Carmilla's admiring gaze. She stopped their swinging hands and stepped in to kiss Carmilla softly, drawing her closer with their connected hands. 

“You're a dork,” Laura whispered against Carmilla's lips. The feeling of her breath tickled her face and sent a shiver to her spine. 

“I'm just stating what I see, what I hear, what you make me feel…” she turned her head to the side, far enough so her cheek was touching Laura's lips. 

Saying that out loud made her feel like a gross teenager with no sense of contentment. Like everything had to be so intense and romantic. It was so sickeningly sappy and fit exactly what Laura was capable of doing to her. 

It felt so unnatural that it almost made her want more. As if without the feeling she would surely die. 

A smile spread across her face at the thought. Being overwhelmed by something that could change her whole being made her want to run for the hills and find an abandoned cabin deep within an ancient forest. 

That wouldn't be very fun alone, lucky she had Laura. 

She was smiling because that's what she did when she was scared out of her mind. Many people she knew did it as well. Smiling through the fear like hope was still running through their veins. 

It was a coping mechanism hammered into kid's heads as soon as something threatening happened. As long as they were smiling or giggling through a tough time they were fine, right? 

“And what would that be?” Laura breathed, feeling like Carmilla could say anything from perfection to bullshit and she would still be head over heels for her. 

“Laura, I love you.” 

Carmilla's smile faltered at the confession. Surrendering that line shook her bones. She had never said that to anyone in such an intense, honest way. She sounded so guarded normally, but this felt so right. She felt confident in herself for once. 

“I love you too, genius,” Laura giggled, somehow making Carmilla even warmer than before. Something like that would have destroyed Carmilla's idea of sentiment in the past, but in this moment everything felt in place. Pre written. Dare she say… fate. 

 

****

 

Carmilla studied the drawing in front of her, annotating the elements that stood out the most and any interesting qualities she could draw inspiration from. 

She was used to pulling paragraphs of in depth dissections of painting, photographs and drawings out of no exact place and today wasn't any different. She, just did what she normally did. 

She would stare at the piece for a few minutes in complete silence and focus, then scribble a bunch of notes and strangely coded memos, then type it out on her laptop. Job done. 

Her art teacher still didn't understand why she was so fast at tearing piece by price apart, but that was just how she had been doing it since her first analysis task. 

“Take your time. You might miss something.”

“Slow down, this isn't a race.”

“Chill fam.”

She was used to that kind of reaction from him at this point, but she wouldn't change her method even if she was paid to. Getting everything out of the way and finished was how she liked to operate when it came to theory work. It helped her to worry less and be as stress free as possible and she would take that over money any day. 

The bell rang signalling the student's dismissal. Carmilla packed her things into her bag and walked out the door, heading straight for her car. 

She had texted her mom to tell her she would be having dinner with the Hollis’ and then texted Laura to meet her at her car at the end of fifth period, but now she had to wait. 

Laura always had here last class for the day; P.E with Kirsch and if past experiences of waiting at her locker for what felt like hours was any indication of how this would go, Carmilla was already preparing to roll her eyes more than usual. 

Surprisingly it only took Laura a few minutes to come bouncing along the path with her bag and giant puppy skipping by her side.

“Oh God,” Carmilla whined knowing she was about to get bear hugged. 

Two bodies crashed into her own and she smiled at how ridiculous her friends were. 

“CAR-MIL-LA!”

“CAR-MIL-LA!”

“CAR-MIL-LA!” 

They shouted into the air, jumping up and down on the spot, bringing Carmilla with them. 

“Why?” Carmilla chuckled out, shaking her head as they stopped jumping and settled for normal greetings.

“Are you pumped for dindins?” Kirsch asked, resembling an actually toddler with the use of ‘dindins’. 

“If I wasn't before, then I guess now I am.”   
Carmilla smiled and took Laura's hand in her own, squeezing it with a bit of genuine excitement. Normally dumb chants didn't get Carmilla at all enthused, but seeing Laura with her big shadowing, basically brother yelling and jumping around like fools did the trick. 

“Good, I hope it all goes well and you enjoy the food. I've got to go, but I'll see you dudes later.” 

Kirsch ran over to his own truck and hopped inside without taking much care to anything around him. 

What a majestic creature. 

“Hey there, Fancy pants. Ready to go?” Laura grinned, kissing Carmilla's lips before she could respond. 

“I believe you are the fancy pants right now,” she said after they broke apart, still holding onto each others bodies

Laura looked down to her legs, realising that Carmilla was hinting at the cute shorts she was wearing for sport class. 

She smiled widely and connected their hands between their bodies, hoping she wasn't blushing like an idiot. 

“You're gross and I love it.”

Carmilla kissed Laura's cheek and rolled her eyes endearingly, wishing this moment would never end, but knowing they had to get going if they wanted to spend some time together to prepare for the dinner. 

“Come on, Hollis. Let's get movin’.”

 

****

 

“So I have a nice shirt in my bag because I always bring changes of clothes to school and it's probably more classy, but I don't mind whether I wear this,” Carmilla gestured to what she was already wearing, a black t-shirt with a grey and blue owl on the breast pocket and a pair of faded black jeans. “or what I have packed,” she pointed to her bag on the floor, leaving Laura to decide what would be better. 

“Honestly, it's not that big of a deal. He's going to be so happy to finally sit down and talk to you, that I don't think he'll even notice what you're wearing,” Laura replied casually from her bed, lying down on her back and staring at the ceiling. She knew Carmilla had been nervous about this for a while, but there really wasn't a need to be. As far Laura was concerned Carmilla could show up in a very seductive corset and her dad wouldn't be phased at all. 

“Maybe I should just go nude, then.”

Laura craned her neck to look at her girlfriend with a cheeky, disapproving smile. 

“Maybe you should stop stressing and enjoy some quality TV while we cuddle?” Laura suggested, sitting up on the bed with her arms thrown back, supporting her weight. 

“I guess that would be nice,” Carmilla mumbled, pulling Laura up into her arms and leading them out of her room. 

They watched a few episodes of Parks and Rec, Laura laying down with her head in Carmilla's lap and Carmilla stroking her hair every few seconds. It didn't seem like long before Laura heard her dad's car pull up into the garage and the car door shutting behind him. 

She looked to see Carmilla running a hand through her hair nervously. She sat up from her lap and smiled brightly. 

“You're going to be fine,” she checked the time on her phone; 6:13. “We'll be having dinner at 7ish. He'll probably want to order some take out and judge you harder on what you choose to eat, than anything else” Laura attempted to lighten up the mood, resting a hand on Carmilla's shoulder and feeling how tense she was. 

“You're right, I'll be fine,” Carmilla nodded slowly, clapping her hands together and standing up from the couch. 

“I've met him before, I have nothing to worry about.”

She sounded like she was trying to persuade herself more than anything. It seemed to be working from Laura's point of view because her shoulders were releasing the tension that had built up within the past thirty seconds and had almost settled completely. 

“Laura? I'm home.”

“Hey, dad. We're in here.”

“Hey there, Carmilla. I haven't seen you in a while,” He held out a hand to shake her’s and she accepted returning the greeting. 

“Hello, Mr Hollis. Yeah I haven't been here in a while, huh?” she asked nervously, chuckling to try and somehow ease the new tension in her spine. 

“Well Laura here has told me all about the new advancements you girls have been making and I think it's only fair to say welcome, I'm going to be an asshole if you break her heart and…” Laura nudged him in the stomach, reminding him that she was in fact, still in the room and none of this was necessary. 

“What's for dinner?” He joked, releasing a breathy laugh to try and smooth out the creases he had begun to make without even sitting down yet. 

All Carmilla could do was watch his display of fatherly protectiveness and pretend like he hadn't basically promised to destroy her if things went south. What a great start to the evening. 

“I was going to order some Chinese, but I'm up for suggestions,” Laura spoke up, hoping to deflate the current staring contest her father was having with what seemed to be her stone dead girlfriend. 

“That's good, get me a 22 would you? And Carmilla what would you like? Have you eaten from Lucky Yu before?” 

“Yeah Lucky Yu is the only place I eat when mom isn’t home. can I get the 14?” she turned to Laura, putting on a bright smile. 

Laura wasn't sure if it was really for the Chinese food or to convince her that everything was fine, but nevertheless she had some food to order. 

“Okay dad, we'll give you some time to freshen up and relax while we order.” Laura turned to walk up the stairs near the door he had come through, grabbing Carmilla's hand on the way and pulling her up behind her without waiting for either of them to respond. 

“Well, that was a train wreck,” Carmilla whined throwing herself face first onto Laura's bed while the other girl closed the door behind her. 

“It was fine, He's just trying to test your boundaries, see how much he can affect you, but don't worry they're all empty threats.” 

Carmilla smiled into the mattress and pushed herself up, flipping over and sitting on the edge of the now messy covers. 

“Mostly,” Laura added quickly, grinning when Carmilla's face dropped.

“I'm kidding,” she reassured sitting down next to her and swinging an arm over her shoulders. Carmilla rested her forehead against the side of Laura's, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply. 

“Are you going to order?” Carmilla whispered, enjoying how natural this position felt, even if she looked ridiculous. 

“Yeah, but first let me just…” Laura moved her head to face Carmilla's and leaned down to capture her lips with her own. They stayed like that for moment, gently kissing each other without making any moves to increase or decrease the pace. 

“You are perfect and any father should feel safe if his daughter is with you,” Laura spoke against Carmilla's lips, earning a smile she didn't see, but felt against her skin. 

“Stop it, you're going to make me puke,” Carmilla giggled, breaking their connection and standing up to try and hide how nice Laura's comment was. 

“Well, I'm going to order. Make sure you don't have a heart attack before we even begin the dinner.”

Laura moved from the bed and sat down in the desk chair, swirling and swivelling as she dialed the number she had come to learn off by heart. She ordered the food, while watching Carmilla nervously pick at the seams of her t-shirt. 

“Okay, everything should be here in 20 minutes, so that gives us enough time to make sure you survive tonight and make out. Perfect,” she mocked, knowing there wasn't really anything she needed to prepare Carmilla for other than calming down techniques. 

“Humour me all you want, just know that if he kills me I'm blaming you,” Carmilla huffed sitting back on the bed and pouting at Laura. 

Laura raised her eyebrows in adoration. 

They spent the next twenty minutes pretending like Carmilla wasn't losing her cool. They spoke about school and random subjects to distract the brooding girl from what was to come and her nerves. It was working quite well until they heard the doorbell ring and Laura's father answer the door. 

“Time to go, Romeo.”

Laura stood from the bed as they heard her dad call they're names. She reached out for Carmilla to take her hand, waiting until she felt an anxious palm press against her own. 

“It's not even that big of a deal, just relax.”

“Easy for you to say, he's your dad,” Carmilla whined in a whisper as they decended the stairs to see Rob unpacking all of the food and setting the table. 

“Hey girls, help us out,” he said warmly as they made an entrance into the dining room. Carmilla took the plates and spread them out, while Laura set up the cutlery. 

Once everyone was seated and had their own box set up in front of their plates Rob started the conversation. 

“So Carmilla, how's your family? I know you and Will have been busy with school and study. How's your mom?” 

“They're good. Mom's been really busy with work, she just got some new clients and it's been hectic for her to get everything set up,” Carmilla answered, making a note to herself not to use the word hectic again. She sounded stoned or something. 

“Yeah, it's always a bit tedious filing out paper work. Hopefully she'll be free one of these days and we can all have a barbecue Sunday,” He suggested kindly, stuffing his face with noodles from his plate. Even though the action was quick and hurried, he seemed to carry some kind of sluggishness to his posture. He was definitely tired and even though it wasn't necessarily a nice way to think about it, Carmilla was glad he wouldn't have the energy to get into somekind of argument. 

Her mind kept skipping to the worst outcomes it could come up with. It didn't really make sense. She knew it was obvious he didn't want to create tension between anyone and that helped her to relax slightly, but she still felt like something was going to go wrong. 

They spoke about everything from work to hobbies to old TV shows and music. Carmilla was surprised to learn so much about her girlfriend's dad in such little time. He was easy to talk to and made it simple to talk about anything. Laura sure was lucky to have someone so understanding. 

Laura was intrigued to find how well Carmilla was looking. At the start she was sure she was going to faint or do something dramatic, but it turns out her girlfriend has more in common with her dad than she does with herself. It wasn't really surprising, but there was a weird feeling in her stomach. It felt like she was going to be sick, but in the best way possible. 

Her two favourite people were getting along like they were friends in another lifetime and she couldn't be more proud of how Carmilla was talking and sharing. 

She was being so vocal and confident with everything she said and her dad was returning all of it. 

Laura felt like she could watch the exchange forever, but Carmilla's phone rang a while after they finished eating and she was sure it was her mom. Carmilla took the call, stepping out of the room for a moment, giving Rob a chance to talk to his daughter in private. 

“She's sweet, Laur. I mean we've known each other since she started coming over here, but I never knew she liked so much from the 80s. You really chose nicely. It is a little odd that she thinks I look like Jeff Bridges, but I'll except it,” he joked, smiling widely as her face lit up. 

“Carmilla is a dork when it comes to all that stuff and I'm glad you like her. I like her as well.”

“To be expected,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows as Carmilla came back in with a sheepish smile on her face. 

“That was my mom. She wants me home in twenty, so I better get going,” Laura stood up, getting ready to walk her out. 

“It was so great to have dinner here. Thanks for the food and entertainment. I'll have to see if we still have Simple minds on vinyl,” Carmilla chuckled.

“Absolutely any time. You're always welcome to join us. Say hi to your mom for me,” Rob stood up from his seat, wiping his hands on the front of the old shirt he changed into before dinner and held out a hand to shake. 

Carmilla took it and shook his hand contently. She was more than thrilled that tonight had gone smoothly and it didn't even faze her that she was going to have to catch the bus home. 

“Okay, well. I'll be off.”

Carmilla smiled at Laura and Laura smiled back. If this wasn't the perfect way to be properly introduced to the parent of the girl she was dating Carmilla was completely confused. It had gone so well that she couldn't hold back the long awaited kiss she gave Laura once they were outside on the porch. 

“Told you you would be fine.” Laura held onto Carmilla's hands, feeling how calm she was now and comparing it to a few hours before. 

Carmilla shook her head and giggled. 

“I overreacted. You're dad is hilarious,”

“Now you know where I get my puns from,” Laura joked, squeezing Carmilla's hands and letting go. She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it off of her face and behind her eyes. 

“I gotta go or I'm going to miss my bus.”

Carmilla pulled Laura in for a final kiss, expressing her thanks in a physical sense. She smiled into the kiss and walked backwards down the path, keeping playful eye contact with the smaller girl. 

“See you tomorrow, Cupcake.” 

And with that Carmilla turned around and walked to the bus stop at the end of the street, sure that Laura had watched every step she took until she was out of sight. 

“I'm too good,” Carmilla whispered to no one in particular, laughing and her own arrogance.


End file.
